UCSB   LIBRARY 


LECTURES 


YOUNG    PEOPLE 


MANUFACTURING    VILLAGES. 


BY  DORUS  CLARKE, 

Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church,  Chickopee  Factory  Village,  Springfield. 


AN     INTRODUCTION 
BY  AMOS  BLANCHARD, 

Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Lowell. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED   BY   PERKINS    &   MARVIN. 
PHILADELPHIA  :  HENRY  PERKINS. 

1836. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1836, 

BY  PERKINS  &  MARTIN, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


TO 


TIMOTHY    W.    CARTER,    ESQ., 

Agent  of  the  Chickopea  Manufacturing  Company ; 
AND  TO 

GEORGE    W.    BUCKLAND,    ESQ., 

Superintendent  of  the  Mechanical  operations  of  the  same; 

THIS     VOLUME, 

PRIMARILY    DESIGNED    FOR    THE    BENEFIT    OF    THE     NUMEROUS 

YOUTH   IN   THEIR  EMPLOYMENT,   IS,   WITH   MANY 

SENTIMENTS    OF    RESPECT,   GRATITUDE, 

AND   AFFECTION, 

INSCRIBED. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

THE  following  Lectures  were  prepared 
with  the  desire  to  promote  the  intellec- 
tual, moral  and  religious  improvement  of 
the  young  people  of  the  author's  pastoral 
charge  ;  and,  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
young  men  before  whom  they  were  de- 
livered, they  are  now  given  to  the  public, 
in  the  hope,  that  they  may  be  useful  to 
youth  generally,  but  especially  to  the  nu- 
merous and  highly  important  class  which 
are  connected  with  the  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments of  the  country. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MARCH,  1836. 


CONTENTS. 


Pagt. 

INTRODUCTION, 9 

LECTURE  I. 

Importance  of  the  period  of  youth, 29 

LECTURE  II. 
Intellectual  cultivation, 47 

LECTURE  III. 

Established  and  correct  religious  principles,     .     .        65 

LECTURE  IV. 

Dangers  of  young  people, 91 

LECTURE  V. 

Origin,  obligation  and  proper  observance  of  the 

Sabbath, 115 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE  VI. 

Morality  necessary,  but  insufficient  to  salvation,    .      143 

LECTURE  VII. 
Personal  piety, 170 

LECTURE  VIII. 
Life  of  active  usefulness, 195 


INTRODUCTION. 


WITHIN  comparatively  a  few  years,  a  new  direction 
has  been  given  to  a  large  amount  of  American  genius, 
capital,  and  labor.  Instead  of  the  unbroken  stillness 
of  agricultural  life,  almost  every  village  of  New 
England  resounds  with  the  din  of  machinery  ;  every 
water- fall  is  laid  under  tribute  as  a  centre  of  business 
and  a  source  of  wealth  ;  and  populous  towns,  cities 
in  all  but  the  name,  occupy  the  soil,  which  yesterday, 
as  it  were,  scantily  rewarded  its  partial  cultivation, 
or  was  covered  by  the  tall  trees  of  the  forest. 

A  corresponding  change  has  come  over  the  char- 
acter and  habits  of  a  large  portion  of  the  people. 
Multitudes,  especially  of  the  youth,  once  scattered 
among  the  farms  and  smaller  workshops  of  the 
country,  are  now  congregated  in  compact  masses, 
and  are  subject  to  all  the  influences,  good  and  evil, 
which  attend  a  dense  and  busy  population. 

Interesting  as  are  the  inquiries  suggested  by  this 
state  of  things  to  the  statesman  and  political  econo- 
2 


mist,  questions  of  vastly  greater  interest  arise  in  the 
mind  of  every  Christian.  What  complexion  is  the 
moral  character  of  these  institutions  to  assume  ? 
What  is  to  be  their  effect  on  the  intelligence  and 
virtue  of  the  community  ?  These  inquiries  possess 
an  interest  paramount  to  any  and  all  others,  and 
demand  the  most  serious  consideration  of  every  lover 
of  his  country's  and  of  human  weal. 

One  thing  is  certain.  We  are  to  be  a  manufactur- 
ing country.  The  tide  of  events  which  has  already 
given  so  strong  an  impulse  in  this  direction  to 
American  enterprise,  cannot  be  arrested.  It  is  every 
day  becoming  more  resistless.  The  natural  resources 
of  the  country,  the  amplitude  of  its  domain,  its  fertility, 
and  its  means  of  artificial  power  by  water  and  by 
steam — the  capabilities  for  production  in  our  large 
and  increasing  population,  their  enterprise,  and  the 
necessity  of  finding  objects  on  which  that  enterprise 
may  be  expended — the  aptitude  of  our  countrymen 
for  the  mechanic  arts,  their  ingenuity  and  skill,  and 
their  success  in  the  invention  of  labor-saving  ma- 
chinery— all  point  out  our  destiny  with  a  distinctness 
which  supersedes  the  ken  of  prophecy.  Even  now, 
manufactures  have  ceased  to  be  exotics  here.  They 
have  struck  their  roots  so  deep,  and  have  spread 
upward  into  such  luxuriance,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  that 
they  will  henceforward  compose  an  important  feature 
of  our  moral  and  social  scenery.  Desirable  or  not,  the 
result  is  inevitable.  Christians  and  philanthropists 


XI 

can  only  fall  in  with  the  current,  and  prepare  them- 
selves to  meet,  as  best  they  may,  the  responsibilities 
and  perils  which  it  shall  evolve. 

Another  fact  is  no  less  clear.  The  influence  of 
manufactures  on  education  and  morals,  is  to  be,  one 
way  or  another,  tremendous.  They  have  already 
levied  their  contributions  on  nearly  every  town  and 
village.  They  embosom  the  flower  of  many  families 
of  the  yeomanry  of  the  land — families  from  which 
have  sprung  the  greater  part  of  our  most  honored  and 
useful  men,  and  of  which  it  is  not  exaggeration  or 
flattery,  but  simple  truth  to  assert,  that  they  compose 
the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  nation's  strength.  Not  a 
few  of  the  youth  who  fill  these  abodes  of  honorable 
industry,  are  the  offspring  of  piety  and  prayer.  And 
around  these  crowded  resorts,  are  clustered  the  sup- 
plications and  hopes  of  many  of  the  best  hearts  in 
our  churches  They  here  form  a  society  in  which 
the  elements  of  good  and  evil  are  brought  into  direct 
and  fearful  collision.  Parental  oversight  is  withdrawn. 
The  kindly  influence  of  the  family,  restraining  from 
vice  and  stimulating  to  good  behavior  with  all  the 
secret  magic  of  a  charm,  is  here  almost  unknown. 
They  are  linked  by  active  and  numerous  sympathies 
with  every  possible  variety  of  character,  and  are  ex- 
posed to  every  species  of  temptation.  It  is  true  their 
pursuits  exercise  and  develope  talent,  and  the  constant 
contact  of  mind  with  mind,  gives  them  a  degree  of 
intelligence  perhaps  above  the  average  intellect  of  an 


agricultural  community.  There  is  here  little  stagna- 
tion of  thought ;  and  hence  their  ignorance,  if  they 
be  ignorant,  will  not  be  that  of  torpid,  vacant  minds. 
It  will  be  ingenious,  passionate,  prurient ;  putting 
itself  forth  in  forms  of  bold,  reckless,  destructive 
error.  Uneducated  mind  in  a  manufacturing  village 
will  be  emphatically  "  educated  vice."  The  well 
known  excitability  too  of  such  communities,  may, 
under  auspicious  moral  influences,  be  turned  to  the 
best  account,  as  facts  delightfully  prove  ;  or  it  may 
render  them  "  rebel  to  all  law,"  and  qualify  them  to 
bid  defiance  to  every  religious  and  moral  restraint,  as 
leviathan  laughs  at  the  shaking  of  a  spear.  And 
when  these  splendid  monuments  of  enterprise  and 
art  shall  have  become  lazar-houses  of  corruption, 
should  heaven  in  its  wrath  ever  visit  us  with  so  dire  a 
day,  the  nation  will  rue  the  riches  which  erected 
them,  and  the  very  extremities  of  the  social  system 
will  wither  beneath  their  corrupted  and  corrupting 
influence. 

Our  hope  however  is  strong  that  such  a  day  is 
never  to  arrive.  There  is  much  to  invigorate  this 
hope  in  the  habits  and  institutions  of  the  American 
people.  The  industrious  tenants  of  our  mills  and 
workshops  are  aspiring  to  become  themselves  at  no 
distant  day  proprietors.  They  are  treading  the  same 
honorable  path  through  which  some  have  already 
reached  the  high  places  of  power,  and  multitudes 
have  acquired  competent,  if  not  affluent  wealth. 


Few  among  them  can  be  found  at  present,  who  are 
not  looking  forward  to  an  eligible  settlement  in  life, 
with  little  or  no  expectation  that  their  present  em- 
ployments are  to  be  the  inheritance  of  their  children. 
Among  the  unnumbered  blessings  of  our  social  institu- 
tions, institutions  whose  glory  it  is  that,  like  the  laws 
of  Providence,  they  are  felt  chiefly  in  the  blessings 
which  they  diffuse,  the  constant  though  noiseless 
revolutions  which  society  is  undergoing  are  certainly 
among  the  foremost.  With  no  law  of  entail,  and  no 
rights  of  primogeniture,  there  never  can  be  an  aristoc- 
racy among  us,  in  any  proper  sense  of  the  term.  To 
how  great  an  extent  are  our  rich  men  the  artificers  of 
their  own  fortunes.  How  seldom  is  a  family  distin- 
guished by  inherited  wealth  through  more  than  one 
or  two  generations.  The  elements  of  society,  like 
the  particles  in  a  mass  of  boiling  fluid,  are  constantly 
changing  places.  In  the  ceaseless  rotation  of  the 
wheel,  those  who  are  now  deemed  by  themselves  and 
others  as  at  the  bottom,  are  found,  in  the  lapse  of  a 
few  years  of  patient  industry  and  enterprise,  at  the 
top.  We  cling  to  the  hope  that,  under  the  operation 
of  our  social  system,  manufacturers  will  never  become 
a  distinct  caste,  doomed,  as  families,  to  mere  me- 
chanical toil,  and  aspiring  to  no  higher  education  for 
themselves  or  their  children  than  is  requisite  to  make 
them  convenient  appendages  of  the  machinery  with 
which  they  work. 

Again,  the  early  education  of  a  large  proportion  of 


XIV 

those  who  work  in  our  manufactories,  will  go  far  to 
form  and  maintain  among  them  all  an  elevated  tone 
of  moral  feeling.  In  countries  where  these  institu- 
tions have  been  complained  of  as  hotbeds  of  vice,  it 
is  questionable  whether  the  fact,  if  it  be  a  fact,  is  to 
be  ascribed  so  much  to  the  simple  influence  of  the 
system,  as  to  the  previous  moral  character  of  the 
people  themselves.  As  long  as  one  half  or  one  third 
of  the  youth  in  these  establishments  enter  them  with 
the  associations  of  well  regulated  and  pious  homes 
fresh  about  them,  they  will  compose  a  leaven  of  vast 
and  truly  conservative  power. 

And  then  there  is  among  the  people  at  large  an 
ever  wakeful  jealousy  of  abuses,  which,  even  while  it 
seems  to  slumber,  is  still  watching  with  its  hundred 
eyes  against  the  encroachments  of  avarice  in  the 
employer  on  the  rights  and  welfare  of  the  employed. 
Public  sentiment  must  be  strangely  deteriorated  to 
tolerate  the  abuses  from  which  most  of  the  evils 
charged  to  the^e  institutions  in  other  countries  have 
sprung. 

It  is  matter  of  encouragement,  that  hitherto  so 
healthy  a  public  sentiment  has  been  maintained  in 
most  of  our  manufacturing  communities.  Proof  is 
wanting  that  in  point  of  morality  and  social  order,  they 
are  inferior  to  any  other  communities  of  equal  extent 
and  density,  or  even  to  an  equal  number  of  youth 
taken  as  they  rise  in  a  sparse  and  widely  scattered 
population. 


XV 


It  must  not  be  forgotten,  moreover,  that  the  same 
causes  which  expose  the  youth  in  these  crowded  resorts 
to  peculiar  temptations,  facilitate  also  salutary  moral 
appliances.  Religious  sympathies  are  rapidly  com- 
municated. The  sanctuary  and  the  Sabbath  school 
are  commonly  more  accessible  than  they  can  be  in 
most  of  our  country  towns  ;  and  systems  of  religious 
effort  can  be  made  to  bear  upon  those  who  have  not 
become  inured  to  the  thrilling  scenes  of  the  confer- 
ence room  and  the  meeting  for  social  prayer. 

But  the  chief  ground  of  our  hope  respecting  the 
future  character  of  these  institutions,  is  in  the  fact 
that  some  of  the  largest  of  them  have  been  the  scenes 
of  delightful  and  glorious  revivals  of  religion.  The 
Holy  Spirit  has  hovered  over  these  interesting  spots, 
and  hallowed  them  by  his  special  presence.  To  not 
a  few  they  have  proved  the  very  gate  of  heaven. 
Hundreds  of  youth  might  be  named,  who,  after  a  few 
months'  residence  here,  have  returned  to  their  friends 
with  a  new  song  put  into  their  mouths,  and  who  will 
through  eternity  recur  to  this,  as  the  birth-place  of 
their  souls. 

These  are,  confessedly  the  brighter  aspects  of  the 
subject.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  tendency 
of  the  unbounded  prosperity  of  the  country  is  to 
create  the  same  inequalities  of  wealth,  which  char- 
acterize society  in  many  states  of  the  old  world. 
With  the  progress  of  refinement,  and  the  more  ex- 
tended application  of  the  principle  of  division  of  labor, 


the  employments  of  the  laboring  classes  will  break 
them  up  more  or  less  into  distinct  castes,  at  the  sacri- 
fice of  intellectual  expansion  and  capacity  for  moral  im- 
provement. With  the  growing  luxury  and  vice  of  the 
country,  our  larger  towns  and  villages  will,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  embody  a  still  greater  amount  of  corruption. 
Of  these  incalculable  evils,  manufacturing  towns  will 
come  in  for  their  full  share.  Nay,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that,  without  special  preventive  influence,  they,  of  all 
places,  will  be  most  sorely  scathed  by  the  lava  tide  of 
profligacy  and  crime. 

These  emergencies  must  be  suitably  met,  or  we  are 
undone.  In  the  responsibility  of  meeting  them  aright, 
the  whole  religious  community  partakes.  A  few 
suggestions  to  ministers  and  Christians  will  be  here 
indulged. 

There  must  be  then,  most  obviously,  a  special 
adaptedness  of  ministerial  and  Christian  effort  to  the 
wants  and  peculiarities  of  manufacturing  towns.  Not 
forgetting  that  the  sovereign  power  of  God  is  the  only 
source  of  success  in  saving  men,  it  is  still  a  truth  not 
to  be  overlooked,  that  God  works  ordinarily  by  in- 
strumentalities adapted  to  their  intended  ends ;  and 
that,  other  things  equal,  those  means  will  be  most 
blessed,  which  are  the  most  perfectly  fitted  to  accom- 
plish their  object,  and  are  most  wisely,  perseveringly, 
and  prayerfully  applied.  It  is  on  this  ground  that  we 
speak  of  the  wants  of  these  places  as  demanding 
special  adaptedness  of  religious  exertions.  No  fixed 


routine  of  effort,  mechanically  pursued  ;  no  following 
of  a  beaten  track  ;  no  stereotyped  plans  of  action,  will 
answer  the  purpose.  Among  a  population  transient 
almost  as  the  water-courses  by  which  they  dwell,  a 
minister  cannot  live  on  the  "  capital "  of  reputation 
and  public  confidence  which  he  may  have  acquired 
by  past  years  of  prudent,  indefatigable,  and  successful 
toil.  Nor  will  a  few  splendid  efforts  atone  for  long 
intervals  of  dullness.  Pulpit  preparation  must  not  be 
neglected.  Do  whatever  else  a  minister  may,  if  he 
be  habitually  careless  on  this  point,  his  moorings  are 
unsound,  and  his  sheet  anchor  drags.  No  audience 
hears  preaching  more  attentively  than  one  composed 
of  mechanics.  And  with  little  aid,  perhaps,  from 
mere  bookish  lore,  there  is  in  such  an  audience  no 
lack  of  quick  perception,  of  sound  common  sense 
judgment,  and  a  demand,  approaching  even  to  fas- 
tidiousness, for  clear,  matured  and  solid  exhibitions 
of  truth.  But  the  pastor  must  not  stop  here.  The 
materials,  of  which  his  church  and  congregation  are 
composed,  are,  to  a  great  extent,  individuals,  as 
distinguished  from  families.  These  require,  as  the 
means  of  attraction  and  union,  a  large  amount  of  in- 
dividual attention.  The  pastor's  work,  therefore, 
consists  much  in  details  ;  and  generally  his  success 
will  depend  less  upon  a  few  great  or  brilliant  efforts, 
than  upon  a  multitude  of  things,  in  themselves  per- 
haps small,  skilfully  and  seasonably  performed.  His 


skill  in  tactics  will  go  nearly  or  quite  as  far  towards 
determining  his  success  as  his  pulpit  power. 

His  toils,  like  the  fabled  labors  of  Sisyphus,  must 
be  unintermitted.  But  if  he  have  the  blessing  of  God, 
the  results  will  be  proportion  ably  great.  Beneath  his 
ministry  are  passing  in  quick  succession  scores  and 
hundreds  of  minds  to  be  molded  for  eternity  by  his 
hands.  If  he  emulate  the  satisfaction  of  instrumen- 
tally  "  building  up "  a  church,  he  may  enjoy  it  in 
such  a  place,  not  merely  for  a  few  years,  but  for  his 
life.  Those  who  a  year  or  two  since  were  gathering 
around  him,  with  the  ardent  attachment  of  his  spirit- 
ual children,  to  cheer  him  with  their  sympathy  and  to 
lend  him  their  aid,  are  now  very  probably  gone. 
New  faces  present  themselves  every  Sabbath.  And 
these  new  comers  must  be  converted,  new  con- 
scripts for  Christ  must  be  perpetually  enrolled,  or  the 
church,  now  numerous,  and  strong  in  mutual  confi- 
dence and  attachment,  will  be  found  to  have  ebbed 
from  him  in  the  refluent  tide  of  emigration,  leaving 
only  the  fragments  of  what  was  so  lately  "  the  pillar 
and  ground  of  the  truth." 

This  representation  applies,  in  its  whole  extent, 
only  to  those  places  where  the  body  of  the  population 
is  composed  of  manufacturers.  But  it  is  true  propor- 
tionably  of  smaller  establishments.  And  it  is  made, 
not  to  discourage  ministers  from  entering  these  fields 
of  labor,  but  to  correct  an  impression  under  which, 
we  have  sometimes  suspected,  ministers  of  acknow- 


ledged  power  have  declined  invitations  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  such  churches;  viz  :  that  they  do  not  promise 
sufficient  opportunities  of  usefulness.  Let  a  minister 
throw  himself  upon  such  a  community,  regardless  of 
emolument,  honor,  or  ease,  for  the  single  purpose, 
in  the  strength  of  God,  of  winning  men  to  Christ,  and 
he  shall  have  souls  for  his  hire.  True  and  warm 
hearts  will  rally  for  his  countenance  and  support  in 
every  good  enterprise.  Aarons  and  Hurs  will  not  be 
wanting.  He  shall  not  labor  in  vain,  or  spend  his 
strength  for  naught. 

In  no  communities  so  much  as  in  these,  does  the 
prosperity  of  religion  depend  so  much  on  the  exertions 
of  private  members  of  the  church  in  their  individual 
and  social  capacities.  They  can  perform  services 
vital  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  church, 
which  no  pastor,  without  the  gift  of  ubiquity,  and 
scarcely  even  then,  could  render.  The  character  and 
circumstances  of  the  population,  necessarily  throw 
upon  them  much  of  the  work  of  cementing  and  con- 
solidating the  church,  and  of  securing  the  attendance 
of  strangers  upon  the  means  of  grace ;  introducing 
them,  when  suitable,  to  the  pastor  ;  and  following  up 
the  favorable  impressions  which  they  may  have  re- 
ceived in  the  sanctuary.  All  the  responsibility  which 
rests  upon  Christians  in  other  places,  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  sound  public  sentiment,  is  incurred  ten- 
fold in  a  manufacturing  village.  No  where  are  they 
called  upon  to  take  so  high  and  decided  a  ground 


XX 

on  the  subjects  of  Intemperance,  Sabbath-breaking, 
and  every  other  form  of  open  vice.  On  all  these 
subjects  it  emphatically  concerns  Christians  thus  cir- 
cumstanced to  avoid  the  appearance  of  evil ;  to  abstain 
from  what  their  circumstances  and  relations  to  others 
render  inexpedient,  as  well  as  from  what  is  morally 
and  universally  wrong.  Let  those  habits  of  wasteful 
expenditure,  of  indulging  in  idle  and  fashionable 
amusements  and  follies,  which  have  ensnared  and 
ruined  so  many  youths  of  both  sexes,  be  met  by  pro- 
fessing Christians  with  the  sternest  and  most  decided 
reprobation.  The  peculiar  susceptibility  of  all  assem- 
blages of  youth,  to  the  contagion  of  example,  gives 
transcendent  importance  to  the  strictest  consistency, 
in  all  these  matters,  on  the  part  of  professed  followers 
of  Christ.  Let  the  youthful  female  friends  of  the 
Redeemer  ponder  well  their  peculiar  responsibilities. 
Woman's  energy  and  perseverance  have  here  done 
wonders.  It  is  ordinarily  for  the  females  of  such  a  com- 
munity to  give  tone  to  its  public  sentiment  on  morals 
and  religion,  and  to  decide  how  general  shall  be  the 
attendance  upon  the  sanctuary,  the  Sabbath  school, 
and  the  meetings  for  prayer  and  for  religious  inquiry. 
It  would  be  interesting,  did  space  allow,  to  record 
some  of  the  results  of  the  divine  blessing  upon  the 
exertions  of  females  employed  in  manufactories.  But 
their  record  is  in  heaven,  and  their  memorial  is  on 
high.  Let  every  female  so  situated,  understand  her 
obligations  to  Christ,  and  aspire  to  the  enviable  en- 


comium  pronounced  by  our  Lord  upon  one  of  their 
sex — "  She  hath  done  what  she  could." 

Professors  of  religion,  on  entering  a  manufactory, 
have  too  often  imagined  that  they  were  lost  among  the 
throng  of  strangers,  and  were  in  some  way  released 
from  the  .obligations  which  they  recognized  when 
among  their  friends,  to  walk  not  according  to  the 
course  of  this  world.  I  shall  not,  I  hope,  be  charged 
with  cen seriousness,  if  I  say,  that  pastors  abroad  err 
most  sadly  in  not  encouraging  the  youth  of  their 
churches  who  are  about  to  remove  to  these  scenes  of 
peculiar  temptation,  to  become  connected  at  once 
with  some  church  of  Christ  in  the  place  of  their 
expected  residence.  What  though  their  stay  is  to  be 
but  temporary,  do  not  their  best  interests  and  highest 
usefulness  plainly  require  that  they  should  enjoy  the 
Christian  vigilance  and  sympathy  of  some  church  of 
Christ,  and  feel  themselves  responsible,  to  the  extent 
of  their  influence,  for  its  enlargement  and  purity? 
Facts  speak  on  this  subject  with  convincing  and  ter- 
rible eloquence.  Delinquent  professors  of  religion 
cripple  the  power  of  the  gospel  in  these  communities 
far  more  than  all  the  combined  opposition  of  avowedly 
irreligious  men.  Nowhere  is  it  so  true  as  here  that 
if  all  the  inconsistent  professors  of  religion  '  could  be 
exchanged,  each  for  ten  open,  boisterous  enemies  of 
the  truth,  piety  might  proclaim  a  jubilee  at  the  bright- 
ening prospects  of  her  cause.'  In  such  places  no 
safeguard  of  Christian  character  can  be  wisely  dis- 


pensed  with.  And  it  is  surely  no  small  security  of 
Christian  consistency,  to  feel  one's  self  publicly  and 
solemnly  committed  before  the  community  among 
whom  he  resides,  to  live  as  becometh  godliness. 
A  simple  introductory  line,  making  them  acquainted 
with  some  pastor  of  a  church,  would,  under  God, 
have  saved  numbers  who  have  found,  in  manufacturing 
towns,  the  grave  of  their  character,  usefulness,  and 
hopes. 

To  enlarge  on  the  peculiar  duties  of  professing 
Christians  in  manufacturing  establishments,  would  be 
to  anticipate  other  portions  of  this  volume.  One 
thought  I  cannot  forbear  to  suggest.  The  friends  of 
the  Redeemer  in  such  places,  are  most  loudly  called 
upon  to  quench  the  spirit  of  sectarian  party  strife. 
Party  spirit  in  religion,  always  a  calamity,  is  here  a 
most  blighting,  withering  curse.  It  works  with  a 
virulence  elsewhere  unknown,  especially  in  villages 
of  the  smaller  class,  where  rival  denominations 
struggle  for  existence.  While,  therefore,  every  Chris- 
tian indulges  his  predilection  for  his  own  place  of 
worship,  and  feels  himself  specially  responsible  for  the 
prosperity  of  that  branch  of  the  church  of  Christ 
with  which  he  is  directly  connected,  let  him  love  the 
cause  of  Christ  more  than  that  of  a  sect,  and  strive  to 
make  inroads  on  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  rather  than 
to  win  adherents  to  his  own  detachment  of  the  sacra- 
mental host. 

The  responsibility  which  devolves  upon  those,  who, 


XX111 

as  directors  of  companies,  agents,  and  superintend- 
ants,  control  our  manufacturing  institutions,  can 
scarcely  be  overrated.  They  cannot  be  insensible  of 
the  direct  interest  which  they  and  their  employers 
have  in  the  religious  and  moral  character  of  the  in- 
stitutions over  which  they  preside.  And  many  of 
them,  it  should  be  told,  have  exerted  the  influence, 
demanded  by  an  enlightened  policy,  as  really  as  by 
the  higher  law  of  duty  to  God.  But  there  are  those 
to  whom  the  language  of  truth  must  be  that  of  re- 
spectful though  firm  arid  urgent  remonstrance.  To 
any  of  this  description  into  whose  hands  this  volume 
may  fall,  I  would  say — Think  not  lightly  of  evangelical 
religion.  Despise  not  the  efforts  of  its  friends.  Give 
its  institutions'  your  active  and  efficient  support. 
Hallow  the  day  of  God,  and  let  it  not  be  violated 
under  your  authority,  sanction,  or  connivance.  Let 
no  demands  of  avarice  wrest  this  consecrated  day 
from  the  holy  ends  to  which  the  temporal  welfare  of 
society,  no  less  than  the  laws  of  God,  require  it  to  be 
devoted.  The  time  may  come  when  you  will  feel  the 
need  of  the  enlightening,  soothing,  and  subduing 
influences  of  the  Sabbath,  the  sanctuary,  and  the 
Sabbath  school,  to  stand  between  you  and  the  radical- 
ism, which,  in  its  jealousy  of  wealth  and  distinction, 
shall  prostrate  law  and  social  order,  and  wreak  its 
blind  malice  on  the  splendid  achievements  of  yout 
capital  and  skill.  The  signs  of  the  times  are  surely 
portentous  enough  to  bid  you  beware  of  doing  any 


thing,  in  person  or  by  proxy,  to  arrest  or  obstruct  any 
of  the  instrumentalities  which  God  has  appointed  for 
bringing  his  moral  government  to  bear  upon  the  con- 
sciences and  hearts  of  men.  You  may  despise  the 
Sabbath  and  the  public  worship  of  God.  But  a  just 
God  will  hold  you  to  account  for  all  the  good  which 
an  opposite  course  would  have  secured,  and  for  the 
positive  mischiefs  which  your  station  and  influence 
give  you  the  opportunity  thus  to  inflict  upon  society 
around  you  ;  and  none  will  be  to  blame  more  than 
yourselves,  should  it  appear  at  no  distant  day,  that  in 
prostrating  the  Sabbath,  you  have  sprung  a  mine,  of 
which  yourselves  and  those  whom  you  represent  are 
the  very  first  victims. 

It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated  or  too  deeply  im- 
pressed, that  the  special  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  his  renovating  power  is  the  only  ultimate  ground 
of  hope  for  the  continued  purity  of  these  institutions. 
They  must  be  the  scenes  of  perpetual  revivals  of 
religion,  or  abodes  of  moral  infection  and  spiritual 
death.  Let  then  those  pastors  and  Christians  who  are 
called  to  live  and  labor  in  these  important  fields  of 
benevolent  exertion,  make  it  the  burden  of  their 
efforts  and  prayers  to  secure  the  shedding  down  of 
celestial  influence  like  the  rain  and  the  dew.  If  the 
obstacles  are  peculiar,  so  also  are  the  encouragements. 
The  useful  arts  are  with  us  as  yet  in  their  infancy. 
Their  relation  to  morality  and  religion  is  now  fast 
assuming  a  shape  and  complexion  which  will  be  re- 


XXV 

tained  when  maturer  growth  shall  have  developed  their 
giant  energies.  No  one  can  be  in  a  position  to  observe 
the  rills  of  influence  by  which  the  character  of  these 
institutions  reaches  and  affects  the  whole  community, 
without  feeling  that  we  are  authorized  to  bespeak  in 
their  behalf  the  prayers  and  sympathies  of  all  Chris- 
tians. Let  our  Home  Missionary  Societies  bestow 
special  attention  upon  the  manufacturing  villages 
whose  population  and  resources  are  inadequate,  with- 
out foreign  aid,  to  the  support  of  an  evangelical 
ministry.  Nor  let  our  older  towns  withhold  their  aid 
when  needed  for  the  erection  of  houses  of  public  wor- 
ship. It  should  be  understood  that  the  wealth  of  such 
places  is  for  the  most  part  owned  and  represented,  as  to 
religious  objects,  elsewhere ;  that  the  mass  of  those  on 
whom  devolves  the  support  of  religion,  are  young  men 
and  women,  with  no  capital  but  their  enterprise,  their 
industry,  and  their  time  ;  and  that,  relatively  to  their 
population,  such  places  have  generally  less  ability  than 
any  others  for  enterprises  requiring  so  heavy  an  outlay 
of  capital,  as  the  building  of  suitable  houses  of  pub- 
lic worship.  We  could  tell  of  sacrifices  made  for  such 
objects  by  those  whose  earthly  all  is  their  daily  wages, 
such  as  the  owners  of  hoarded  wealth  in  our  older 
towns  would  turn  pale  to  think  of.  Furnish  them 
with  meeting-houses,  and  such  places  will  be  found 
foremost  in  devising  and  executing  liberal  things. 
Their  characteristic  enterprise  in  business  will  show 
itself  in  religion.  Put  them,  in  this  respect,  on  a 
3 


level  with  towns  whose  capital  can  yield  its  thousands 
for  this  purpose  without  a  sensation  of  embarrassment, 
where  local  attachments  and  the  prospect  of  perma- 
nent abode  divest  such  enterprises  of  even  the  show 
of  self-denial,  and  where  they  are  attended  with  not 
more  than  one  half  or  one  third  of  their  expense  in 
manufacturing  towns ;  and  no  places  will  outdo  these 
in  attendance  on  public  worship,  or  in  readiness  to 
meet  the  current  expenses  of  maintaining  religious 
institutions. 

It  bodes  well  for  the  religious  interests  of  man- 
ufacturing districts,  that  the  press  is  becoming 
tributary  to  their  spiritual  wants.  Adaptation  marks 
the  age.  The  multiplication  of  books  is  some- 
times complained  of  as  an  evil.  But  in  so  far  as 
it  results  from  well  directed  efforts  to  adapt  religious 
instruction  to  every  condition  of  mind,  there  is  surely 
little  cause  to  deplore  it.  While,  therefore,  we  have 
many  excellent  volumes  intended  for  the  young,  let 
not  this  attempt  to  address  a  particular  class  of  the 
young  be  deemed  a  work  of  supererogation.  Every 
pastor  located  in  or  near  a  manufacturing  village, 
must  have  felt  the  need  of  some  volume  to  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  this  interesting  and  important  portion 
of  his  congregation,  which  skould  speak  to  their  con- 
dition. And  many  a  parent  has  desired  to  deposit 
such  a  volume  with  his  son  or  daughter  on  leaving 
the  family  home,  as  a  memento  of  danger  and  of 


xxvu 

duty.  The  author  having  favored  me  with  the  perusal 
of  his  manuscript,  I  am  happy  to  bear  my  testimony 
to  the  wisdom  of  his  plan,  and  the  success  of  its 
execution.  The  doctrinal  views  are,  throughout, 
those  in  which  I  suppose  all  classes  of  evangelical 
Christians  will  concur.  But  the  work  will  speak  for 
itself.  I  recommend  it  most  cordially  to  the  beloved 
youth  of  my  own  pastoral  charge,  and  to  all  who  like 
them  are  summoned  to  the  duties,  and  exposed  to  the 
dangers  of  such  a  community.  May  the  author  reap 
an  ample  reward  for  this  labor  of  love  in  the  enlarged 
effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  his  own  flock,  and 
in  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  this  little  volume  whither- 
soever it  shall  go  on  its  errand  of  mercy  and  of  life. 

Lowell,  March,  1836. 


LECTURES 

TO 

YOUNG    PEOPLE. 


LECTURE  I. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  YOUTH. 

PHOT.  xx.  29 — The  glory  of  young  men  is  their  strength. 

IN  attempting  to  adapt  a  series  of  discourses 
to  the  circumstances  of  young  people  in  a  manu- 
facturing village,  I  am  entering,  so  far  as  I  know, 
upon  untrodden  ground.  Able  lectures,  addressed 
to  youth  in  other  situations  in  life,  are  at  command, 
but  they  do  not  profess  to  reach  the  peculiar  con- 
ditions of  a  manufacturing  population.  To  say 
that  the  circumstances  of  such  a  population  are, 
in  some  important  respects,  peculiar,  is  to  utter  the 
language,  not  of  invidiousness,  but  of  kind  truth  ; 
and  the  public  good  requires  that  these  conditions 
should  be  more  accurately  known  and  appreciated. 


30  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

A  manufacturing  population,  then,  is  yet  a  nov- 
elty in  this  country.  Manufactures,  of  the  simpler 
kinds,  were  indeed  coeval  with  the  settlement  of 
New  England ;  but  it  was  not  till  the  general 
pacification  of  Europe  in  1815,  that  they  assumed 
any  great  degree  of  importance.  Since  that 
period,  they  have  outstripped,  in  the  Northern 
and  Middle  States,  all  the  other  great  departments 
of  secular  enterprise.  That  they  are  destined  in 
future  years  to  increase,  to  a  great  and  indefinite 
extent,  requires  no  prophetic  skill  to  divine.  If 
we  consider  the  amplitude  of  our  domain — its 
natural  resources — its  mineral  treasures — its  ex- 
uberant fertility — its  means  of  artificial  power  by 
water  and  by  steam — the  rapid  increase  of  our 
population — the  far  famed  aptitude  of  our  country- 
men for  the  mechanic  arts — their  ingenuity  in  the 
invention  of  labor-saving  machinery — and  the  great 
surplus  capital  of  many  of  our  citizens,  which  can 
find  no  other  so  profitable  investment,  there  can 
no  longer  remain  a  doubt,  that  manufactures  will, 
in  coming  years,  be  prosecuted  on  a  far  more  ex- 
tensive scale  than  the  present.  If,  then,  such  be 
the  recent  date,  present  importance,  and  prospec- 
tive magnitude  of  the  manufacturing  interest,  it 
ought  surely  to  receive  the  serious  consideration, 
not  merely  of  the  political  economist,  and  the 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  31 

statesman  who  adjusts  the  tariffs  of  his  country,  but 
of  all  who  regard  the  moral  bearing  of  different 
pursuits  upon  the  condition  of  individuals  and  of 
communities. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  youth  is  another 
peculiarity  in  a  manufacturing  population.  This 
feature  is  at  once  remarked  by  every  stranger,  on 
entering  a  village  or  a  congregation  composed  of 
this  class  of  our  citizens.  Few  indeed  are  the 
hoary  heads  in  such  a  community.  Here  are  the 
young,  the  ingenious,  the  enterprising.  Special 
efforts  for  their  instruction  and  establishment  in 
the  great  principles  of  morals  and  religion,  can 
never  be  deemed  inappropriate  or  unnecessary. 

No  small  part  of  such  a  population  are  also 
widely  separated  from  their  parents  and  friends. 
They  have  left  the  nameless  endearments  of  home, 
and  the  restraints  of  parental  authority,  to  engage 
in  the  business  of  active  life,  and  that,  too,  at  an 
age,  when  the  counsel  of  parents  and  of  other 
judicious  friends  is  of  incalculable  value.  Not  a 
few  also  are  in  a  state  of  unprotected  orphanage. 
With  no  father's  house  to  which  they  can  resort 
in  seasons  of  bodily  indisposition  and  mental  dis- 
tress, and  no  mother's  attentions  and  prayers  to 
assuage  the  grief  of  the  heart,  does  not  their 
lonely  and  defenceless  situation  bespeak  the  sym- 


32  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

pathies  of  humanity  and  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence ? 

Such  a  population  also  comprises  no  small  share 
of  vigorous  and  independent  mind.  There  are 
no  sinecures  for  mental  dullness  in  a  manufacturing 
community.  Here,  no  person  can  get  a  dollar  a 
day  for  sleeping.  No  person  can  be  a  distin- 
guished machinist  or  manufacturer,  with  but  a 
mediocrity  of  mental  strength  and  ingenuity.  It 
is  only  that  class  of  minds  which  is  enterprising, 
noble  and  magnanimous,  that  finds  its  element  in 
the  ceaseless  industry  and  manly  independence  of 
a  manufacturing  population. 

Such  a  community  possesses  immense  facilities 
for  exerting  an  influence  on  the  country.  The 
population  is  dense.  It  has  all  the  advantages  in- 
cident to  frequent  intercommunication.  Opinions, 
whether  good  or  bad,  circulate  rapidly.  A  little 
leaven  quickly  leavens  the  whole  lump.  The 
people  are  collected  from  different  parts  of  the 
country,  and  perhaps  of  the  world,  and  sentiments, 
formed  by  such  communities,  are  disseminated 
among  their  friends,  and  thus  society,  throughout 
its  numerous  ramifications,  feels  the  influence  of 
the  manufacturing  villages.  Even  London  herself, 
it  is  said,  looks  up  to  Manchester,  Birmingham, 
Leeds,  and  other  large  manufacturing  towns  in 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  33 

England,  for  opinions  upon  the  great  political 
questions,  which,  from  time  to  time,  agitate  the 
public  mind.  The  manufacturing  interest  in  this 
country  does  by  no  means  exert  that  controlling 
influence  over  public  affairs,  which  it  does  in  Great 
Britain,  for  here  it  is  yet  in  its  infancy  ;  but  it 
already  gives  tokens  that  it  is  the  infancy  of  a 
giant. 

Another  peculiarity  in  the  manufacturing  villages 
of  our  country  is,  that  their  place  on  the  scale  of 
moral  character  does  not  yet  seem,  to  be  determined. 
Whether  they  will  sink  to  the  low  point  of  the 
manufacturing  districts  of  the  old  world ;  or 
whether  they  will  average  in  moral  character  with 
our  agricultural,  mercantile  and  commercial  popu- 
lation ;  or  whether  they  will  surpass  them  all,  in 
purity  of  morals,  is  yet  a  problem.  It  is  not  to 
be  denied,  that  the  solution  of  this  problem  is  of 
vital  importance  to  the  country  j  nor  is  it  to  be 
concealed,  that  much  solicitude  is  extensively  felt 
for  the  result. 

Such  are  the  more  prominent  conditions  of  a 
manufacturing  population  in  this  country.  In  this 
Course  of  Lectures,  such  subjects  will  be  presented 
as  are  deemed  to  be  appropriate  to  these  condi- 
tions ;  and,  as  I  trust  it  is  commenced  with  a  de- 
sire to  promote  your  present  and  eternal  good, 


34  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

may  I  not  be  permitted  to  draw  somewhat  largely 
upon  your  candor,  and  to  cherish  the  hope  that 
whatever  of  truth  may  be  exhibited,  will  be  cor- 
dially embraced  and  practised  ? 

Solomon  tells  us  that  "  the  glory  of  young  men 
is  their  strength."  He  probably  had  primary 
reference  to  the  physical  strength  for  which  young 
men  are  distinguished.  But,  by  a  very  easy  and 
natural  accommodation,  the  text  may  be  regarded 
as  having  respect  to  the  moral  strength  or  influ- 
ence of  the  young  of  both  sexes.  I  propose  to 
contemplate  it  in  this  broad  moral  aspect.  The 
subject  of  this  introductory  lecture  will  therefore 
be, 

THE  GREAT  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SEASON  OF 
YOUTH  ; 

I.  To  yourselves. 

II.  To  the  world. 

To  yourselves,  it  is  important, 
.  1.  As  it  is  a  season  of  exquisite  susceptibility. 
From  the  earliest  dawn  of  moral  agency  in  the 
infantile  mind,  all  men  have  a  sinful  moral  char- 
acter ;  but  their  depravity,  although  entire,  is  not 
of  so  deadly  a  virus,  and  does  not  exhibit  such 
deeply  indurated  features,  as  in  mature  age. 
During  the  period  of  childhood  and  early  youth, 
there  is  a  peculiar  susceptibility  of  moral  and  re- 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  35 

ligious  impression,  which  we  search  for  in  vain  in 
the  subsequent  stages  of  life.  The  passions  now 
are  easily  moved — the  conscience  is  tender — the 
mind  is  open  to  the  various  influences  which  may 
assail  it.  The  whole  mental  and  moral  constitu- 
tion is  spread  out  to  receive  impressions,  either 
good  or  evil,  from  whatever  comes  in  contact  with 
it,  like  the  petals  of  a  flower,  displayed  alike  to 
the  sunshine,  the  dew,  and  the  storm. 

If  you  have  any  regard,  as  I  know  you  have, 
to  your  future  peace  and  respectability,  you  cannot 
be  indifferent  to  those  numerous  influences  which 
operate,  with  such  prodigious  power,  upon  the 
character  of  youth.  A  point  of  no  inferior  con- 
sequence will  be  gained,  if  your  minds  should  be 
habitually  awake  to  the  high  importance  of  your 
season  of  life,  arising  from  its  peculiar  susceptibility 
of  impression. 

It  is  important  to  you, 

2.  Inasmuch  as  it  is  the  season  of  education. 
I  know,  indeed,  that  many  of  you  have  completed 
your  education,  so  far  as  the  schools  are  concerned. 
But  the  great  business  of  education,  properly  so 
called,  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  school-room. 
It  is  going  forward  every  day — the  education  of 
circumstances — insensible  education — by  means  of 
which,  your  opinions,  prejudices,  habits  and  char- 


36  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

acters  for  life  are  forming.  Enlightened  heathens, 
as  well  as  Christians,  have  noticed  that  the  im- 
pressions imbibed  by  youth,  "  grow  with  their 
growth,  and  strengthen  with  their  strength."  Ham- 
ilcar,  the  Carthaginian  general,  understood  this 
principle  and  acted  on  it,  when  he  brought  his  son, 
at  the  early  age  of  nine  years,  to  the  altar,  and 
there  made  him  swear  eternal  vengeance  against 
the  Romans.  It  was  because  prejudice  was  thus 
early  instilled  into  the  youthful  mind  of  Hannibal, 
that  he  became  the  most  inveterate,  the  most  un- 
compromising, the  most  terrible  foe  of  Rome. 
The  arch  infidel  Voltaire  understood  this  principle 
when  he  said,  "  give  me  the  making  of  the  bal- 
lads, which  are  read  and  sung  by  the  youth,  and  I 
care  not  who  has  the  making  of  the  laws." 

The  present,  then,  my  young  friends,  is  the 
season  of  your  education — of  your  education  in 
its  most  comprehensive  and  important  sense. 
Those  influences  which  are  now  forming  your 
manners  and  your  minds,  cannot,  if  you  are  at  all 
awake  to  the  subject,  fail  deeply  to  interest  you. 
They  are  insinuating  themselves  into  your  very 
habitudes  of  thought  and  jeeling.  They  are  inter- 
weaving themselves  in  the  very  texture  of  your 
mental  constitution. 

The  present  is  with  you  an  important  period  of 
life, 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  37 

3.  On  account  of  its  peculiar  exposure  to  temp- 
tation. The  dangers,  to  which  young  people  in 
manufacturing  and  all  other  densely  populated 
villages  are  more  particularly  exposed,  are  those 
arising  from  intemperance,  profaneness,  Sabbath- 
breaking,  licentiousness,  and  erroneous  religious 
sentiments.  In  this  connection,  it  gives  me  sincere 
pleasure  to  be  able  to  state,  that  it  is  believed  this 
village  will  bear  comparison,  for  purity  of  morals, 
with  any  other  similarly  situated  community  in 
New  England.  And  it  is  devoutly  hoped,  that  in 
future  years  it  will  even  more  than  maintain  its 
present  elevated  position  in  this  respect.  But  a 
faithful  exhibition  of  the  high  importance  to  your- 
selves of  your  present  period  of  life,  requires  a 
distinct  reference  to  those  vices  and  errors  to  which 
young  people  are  always  more  or  less  exposed. 
No  person  is  too  strongly  fortified  against  tempta- 
tion. The  celebrated  Fisher  Ames  was  accus- 
tomed to  say,  "  we  have  but  a  slender  hold  of  our 
virtues ;  they  ought  therefore  to  be  cherished  with 
care,  and  practised  with  diligence.  He  who  holds 
parley  with  vice  and  dishonor,  is  sure  to  become 
their  slave  and  victim.  The  heart  is  more  than 
half  corrupted,  that  does  not  burn  with  indignation 
at  'the  slightest  attempt  to  seduce  it."  Happy, 
indeed,  will  it  be  for  every  youth  here,  if  it  can 


38  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

be  said  of  you,  as  it  was  beautifully  remarked  of 
that  pure-minded  patriot,  •"  he  did  not  need  the 
smart  of  guilt  to  make  him  virtuous,  nor  the  regret 
of  folly  to  make  him  wise."  I  appeal  then  to 
your  self-respect,  and  to  your  regard  for  the  public 
weal,  and  exhort  you  to  untiring  efforts  to  uproot 
the  last  vestiges  of  immorality  which  may  exist 
among  us.  If  the  youth  will  but  resolve  upon 
their  extermination,  the  work  is  done. 

Your  season  of  life  is  of  indescribable  impor- 
tance to  you, 

4.  Because  your  religious  principles  are  now 
forming.  You  have  already  been  sufficiently  con- 
versant with  the  world  to  know,  that  religious 
opinions  are  almost  endlessly  diversified,  and  fre- 
quently contradictory.  Almost  every  sect,  too, 
except  atheists  and  deists,  profess  to  derive  their 
sentiments  from  the  Bible.  Now  it  is  perfectly 
obvious  that  all  these  sentiments  cannot  be  right, 
and  also  that  most  of  them  must  be  wrong.  And 
when  we  recollect  the  intimate  and  inevitable  con- 
nection between  faith  and  practice,  it  cannot  be  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  you  what  religious 
opinions  you  embrace.  As  your  present  peace 
and  future  felicity  are  concerned,  this  subject  is 
fundamental — it  is  vital.  I  purposely  abstain  from 
entering  upon  its  merits  at  this  time,  because  it  is 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  39 

intended  to  exhibit  it  more  at  large  in  a  future 
lecture.  But  the  criticalness  of  that  period  of 
life,  when  the  religious  sentiments  are  imbibed, 
and  matured,  and  wrought  into  the  very  structure 
of  your  moral  being,  is  beyond  the  power  of  lan- 
guage to  describe,  or  the  imagination  of  an  angel 
to  conceive. 

5.  But  the  last  and  crowning  circumstance 
which  gives  importance  to  your  present  time  of 
life,  is,  that  it  is  the  season  when  nearly  all  become 
Christians  who  ever  do.  The  statistics  of  revivals 
of  religion  exhibit  facts  in  relation  to  this  subject, 
of  overwhelming  interest  to  persons  of  all  ages. 
Probably  nine  tenths,  if  not  ninety-nine  hundredths 
of  the  present  members  of  the  churches  became 
hopefully  pious,  while  under  the  age  of  forty. 
The  term  youth,  in  its  most  enlarged  sense,  may 
be  said  to  embrace  all  persons  up  to  that  age. 
But,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  there  is  some- 
thing fearful  in  the  thought  of  passing  that  limit 
without  repentance.  What  else  can  be  meant  by 
such  passages  as  these  ? — "  Your  fathers  tempted 
me,  proved  me,  and  saw  my  works  forty  years." 
"  But  with  whom  was  he  grieved  forty  years  ? 
was  it  not  with  them  that  had  sinned,  whose 
carcasses  fell  in  the  wilderness  ?  "  "  Forty  years 
long  was  I  grieved  with  this  generation,  and  said, 


40  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

It  is  a  people  that  do  err  in  their  heart,  and  they 
have  not  known  my  ways ;  unto  whom  I  swear 
in  my  wrath,  that  they  should  not  enter  into  my 
rest.'*  Around  what  other  epoch,  in  the  progress 
of  human  life,  can  you  find  so  many  terrors  clus- 
tering ?  Although  there  are  occasional  instances 
of  conversion  in  later  periods  of  life,  there  is 
something  tremendously  appalling  in  the  idea  of 
passing  that  extreme  limit  in  the  period  of  youth, 
in  a  state  of  enmity  against  God. 

But  that  is  not  all.  It  is  well  known,  that  a 
vast  majority  of  those  who  embrace  religion,  do  it 
at  a  much  earlier  age  than  this.  "  Out  of  the 
mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings,"  God  often  perfects 
praise.  Some  of  you,  it  is  hoped,  have  "  remem- 
bered your  Creator  in  the  days  of  your  "  early 
"  youth."  To  all  who  have  not,  let  me  say — "  Now 
is  the  accepted  time,  behold,  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation."  Your  present  time  of  life  is,  of  all 
others,  the  most  favorable  for  attending  to  the 
great  concern.  Let  these  tender,  susceptible 
years  pass  by  unimproved,  and  the  loss  is  remedi- 
less— they  are  gone  forever.  Beyond  all  question, 
so  far  as  your  immortal  interests  are  concerned, 
the  present  is  by  far  the  most  important  part  of 
your  life.  Whatever  you  do — whether  you  accept 
or  reject  the  "  great  salvation,"  you  will  feel  the 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  41 

consequences  of  your  choice,  in  the  extremes  of 
rapture  or  of  wo,  all  along  the  mighty  cycle  of 
eternity. 

But  it  is  time  to  pass  to  the  remaining  branch 
of  the  subject,  and  to  show, 

II.  That  the  season  of  your  youth  is  of  great 
importance  to  the  world. 

1 .  Young  people  exert  great  influence  over  each 
other.  This  inevitably  follows  from  the  laws  of 
social  intercourse.  Mankind  are  so  constituted, 
that  they  cannot  associate  freely  together  without 
receiving  and  communicating  impressions.  This 
law  of  our  social  being  is  specially  illustrated  in 
all  densely  peopled  communities,  because  the 
points  of  contact  are  unusually  numerous.  And 
it  is  still  more  emphatically  illustrated  in  the  unre- 
served freedom  of  intercourse,  which  obtains  among 
persons  engaged  in  the  same  occupation.  Con- 
tinually and  insensibly  are  they  exerting  an  influ- 
ence over  each  other,  of  the  most  important 
character.  Nor  is  this  incompatible  with  indepen- 
dence of  mind.  Real  independence  does  not  dis- 
dain the  opinions  of  others,  nor  retire,  in  haughty 
disgust,  from  society.  But  it  rather  invites  their 
opinions,  gives  them  a  candid  hearing,  and  allows 
them  all  the  weight  to  which  they  are  fairly  en- 
titled. This  condescending  and  generous  treatment 
4 


42  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

of  the  sentiments  of  others,  is  a  necessary  ingre- 
dient in  genuine  dignity  of  mind. 

Your  time  of  life  is,  therefore,  of  great  moment 
to  society,  inasmuch  as  you  are  giving  to  each 
other  a  cast  of  character  which  no  lapse  of  ages 
can  destroy. 

Your  passing  period  of  life  is  of  immense  im- 
portance to  the  world, 

2.  Because  the  first  generation  of  manufac- 
turers in  this  country,  will  materially  affect  all 
subsequent  ones.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said  that 
such  a  generation  does  not  yet  exist — that  those 
who  are  now  engaged  in  manufacturing  pursuits 
regard  them  as  mere  temporary  occupations,  from 
which  they  intend  soon  to  retire  to  other  employ- 
ments. Such  is  unquestionably  the  intention  of  a 
very  large  majority  of  those  who  are  at  present 
thus  occupied.  But  when  children,  in  no  incon- 
siderable numbers,  are  put  into  manufactories  at  the 
early  age  of  eleven  years,  and  even  earlier,  and  kept 
there  from  year  to  year  with  but  perhaps  an  annual 
respite  of  three  or  four  months  for  purposes  of  edu- 
cation, there  can  be  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  ob- 
servant man,  that  the  system  on  which  manufactures 
are  conducted  is  rapidly  creating,  and  has,  in  fact, 
already  created  a  class,  which  may  be  properly 
called  manufacturers.  The  moral  influence  of 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  43 

manufactures  is  now  undergoing  the  test  of  ex- 
periment. The  ultimate  result  is  not  developed. 
Not  our  own  country  only,  but  the  great  common- 
wealth of  nations  is  deeply  interested  in  the  issue. 
Much,  very  much  of  the  moral  influence  of  this 
growing  interest,  will  depend  on  the  character  of 
those  who  are  connected  with  it  during  its  incipient 
stages.  You,  and  other  youth  similarly  situated, 
will  do  much  towards  deciding  the  question, 
whether  the  manufacturing  establishments  of  our 
country  are  to  be,  as  some  of  their  enemies  predict, 
the  veriest  hotbeds  of  ignorance,  and  degradation, 
and  radicalism,  and  crime ;  or,  whether  they  are 
to  equal,  or  even  to  surpass  other  occupations  in 
intelligence,  and  virtue,  and  magnanimous  devotion 
to  the  best  interests  of  man.  Point  me,  then,  if 
you  can,  to  the  class  of  young  men  and  young 
females  in  our  land,  which  are  acting  under  respon- 
sibilities so  momentous.  If  the  young  people,  who 
compose  so  large  a  portion  of  our  manufacturing 
communities,  will  but  awake  to  the  influence  they 
must  exert  on  their  successors  for  generations  to 
come,  there  will  be  but  little  cause  for  solicitude 
as  to  the  result  of  the  experiment  now  in  progress. 
Their  well  known  spirit  of  enterprise — their  thirst 
for  improvement — their  self-respect — their  liber- 
ality, accompanied  with  the  requisite  sense  of  re- 


44  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 

sponsibility  in  the  case,  will  be  a  sufficient  guaranty, 
under  God,  that  the  manufacturing  interest  will 
exert  a  salutary  moral  influence  on  the  world.  * 

Your  season  of  life  is  of  pre-eminent  importance 
to  others, 

3.  Because  the  world  is  more  easily  and  ex- 
tensively affected  by  moral  influence  than  at  any 
"preceding  period.  The  present  has  been  appro- 
priately styled  "  the  transition  age."  The  world 
is  now  passing  from  a  condition  of  great  moral 
deformity  and  debasement,  to  one  of  millennial 
beauty  and  elevation.  The  foundations  of  many 
generations  are  breaking  up.  The  general  mind 
of  man  is  waking  from  the  slumber  of  ages.  The 
moral  elements  are  in  high  commotion.  Opinion 
is  dashing  against  opinion,  like  the  waves  of 
ocean  against  the  shore.  Moral  causes  exert  a 
hundred  fold  more  power  than  they  did  in  the 
twelfth  century.  The  influence  of  the  press  is 
tremendous.  The  ends  of  the  earth  are  brought 
into  juxtaposition  by  means  of  steam.  Whatever 
of  importance  is  done  in  any  place,  affects,  with 
electrical  quickness,  the  antipodes.  Never  before 
was  the  world  in  such  an  excitable,  impressible 
state.  Never  before  did  a  generation  of  youth 
appear  on  the  stage  of  action,  with  so  many  facili- 
ties for  doing  good  or  evil.  Never  before  was  the 


PERIOD  OF  YOUTH.  45 

moral  "strength"  of  the  "  young"  so  herculean  ; 
and  never  before,  if  they  will  exert  that  strength 
aright,  could  it  win  such  victories  of  benevolence, 
or  place  on  their  heads  crowns  of  such  surpassing 
brilliancy. 

Finally,  The  season  of  your  youth  is  important 
to  the  world,  because  the  church  of  God  has  claims 
upon  your  influence.  I  am  not  addressing  a  con- 
gregation of  young  people,  who  are  ignorant  of 
the  moral  "  signs  of  the  times."  You  are  well 
aware,  that  high  expectations  are  entertained,  and 
on  the  best  of  grounds,  that  the  religion  of  the 
gospel  is  soon  to  become  the  religion  of  the  world. 
But  great  must  be  the  expenditure  of  time  and 
strength,  and  property  and  life,  before  that  glo- 
rious consummation  can  be  realized.  To  whom, 
then,  so  far  as  instrumental  agency  is  concerned, 
is  the  church  to  look  for  help,  if  not  to  the  youth — 
to  those  whose  "  strength  "  is  their  "  glory  ? " 

YOUNG  MEN,  the  church  calls  on  you  for  aid. 
She  hath  need  of  you.  She  needs  your  hearts, 
your  time,  your  substance,  your  influence,  your 
prayers,  your  labors.  Devote  yourselves,  then, 
like  youthful  Samuel  and  Timothy,  to  the  Lord. 
"The  field,"  to  which  he  summons  you,  "is  the 
world."  Here  is  scope  enough  for  your  philan- 
thropy and  enterprise.  Live  and  die  in  promoting 


46  IMPORTANCE,  &c. 

that  cause  which  will  soon  absorb  every  other — 
the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ. 

YOUNGK  J^EMALES,  the  church  of  God  calls  on 
you.  Give  ft  your  lives,  and  your  all.  Sympa- 
thize, like  the  "  daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  with 
the  Redeemer,  in  his  efforts  to  save  a  dying  world. 
Imitate  the  unwavering  devotedness  to  Him,  which 
was  so  characteristic  of  woman,  during  the  trying 
scenes  of  the  crucifixion  : — 

"  Not  she  with  trait'rous  kiss  the  Saviour  stung ; 
Not  she  denied  him  with  unholy  tongue  : 
But  when  Apostles  shrunk,  did  dangers  brave, 
Last  at  the  cross,  and  earliest  at  the  grave." 


LECTURE    II. 

INTELLECTUAL    CULTIVATION. 

Pa.  CXLIV.  12.— That  our  sons  may  be  as  plants  grown  up  in  their  youth  ; 
that  our  daughters  may  be  as  corner-stones,  polished  after  the  similitude  of 
a  palace. 

GRAY,  in  his  "  Distant  Prospect  of  Eton 
College,"  has  drawn  an  exquisite  picture  of  the 
simplicity,  gayety  and  unconcern  of  early  youth. 

"  Gay  hope  is  theirs  by  fancy  fed, 
Less  pleasing  when  possess'd  j 
The  tear  forgot  as  soon  as  shed, 
The  sunshine  of  the  breast. 

Alas !  regardless  of  their  doom 

The  little  victims  play  ! 
No  sense  have  they  of  ills  to  come, 

Nor  care  beyond  to-day." 

Such  is  the  description,  which  the  poet  gives  of 
a  class  of  youth,  who  were  sent  to  the  groves  of 
Academus  to  make  those  intellectual  acquisitions, 


48  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

which  should  fit  them  to  fill  with  honor  the  learned 
professions  of  Great  Britain.  Many  youth,  with 
all  the  advantages  for  education  offered  by  an 
university,  have  thoughtlessly  squandered  their 
privileges,  and  have  never  woke  up  to  the  "  re- 
alities" of  life,  till  it  was  too  late.  But  there  is 
occasionally  a  person,  like  Paley,  who,  after  being 
prodigal  of  his  scholastic  advantages,  "  comes  to 
himself,"  redeems  his  time,  and  wins  unfading 
laurels  on  the  fields  of  literature. 

Most  of  you  have  already  passed  the  blithesome 
period  of  very  early  youth,  and  are  beginning  to 
look  at  life  in  a  graver  aspect.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  degree  of  success,  with  which  you 
prosecuted  study  while  at  the  schools,  you  have 
now  reached  that  time  of  life,  when  you  probably 
realize,  more  deeply  than  ever,  the  importance  of 
a  good  education. 

I  shall  avail  myself  of  the  spirit  of  the  text,  to  re- 
commend to  your  increasing  regard  the  subject  of 
INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

My  remarks  will  be  confined  to  the  three  fol- 
lowing topics ; — 

I.  Its  importance. 

II.  The   obstacles  to   mental   improvement   in 
such  a  community  as  this  ;  and 

III.  The  means  of  overcoming  them. 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  49 

Its  importance  is  apparent, 

1 .  As  it  is  a  prominent  means  of  personal  en~ 
joyment  and  influence.  It  is  altogether  a  mistake 
to  suppose,  that,  when  we  have  entered  upon 
active  life,  further  mental  culture  is  unnecessary, 
or  incompatible  with  the  successful  prosecution  of 
business.  The  standard  of  education  is  now  ele- 
vated, and  is  continually  rising.  The  amount  of 
intellectual  wealth,  which,  twenty-five  years  ago, 
conferred  great  enjoyment  and  influence,  is  now 
quite  inadequate  to  produce  the  same  result. 
During  that  period,  the  mind  of  civilized  man  has 
received  an  impulse,  greater  perhaps  than  any 
preceding  century  had  communicated.  Now,  a 
taste  for  reading  very  generally  prevails.  The 
mind,  which  does  not  keep  up,  in  this  particular, 
with  the  times,  feels  a  degrading  sense  of  inferi- 
ority. The  respect  of  others  being  lost,  it  soon 
loses  respect  for  itself.  Its  enjoyment  and  influ- 
ence are  now  seriously  impaired,  if  not  utterly 
destroyed.  This  calamitous  result  cannot  be 
avoided,  in  this  improving  age,  except  by  perse- 
vering efforts  at  mental  cultivation.  The  profes- 
sional man,  who -should  abandon  study,  will  soon 
find  his  mind  debilitated — his  memory  weakened 
— his  power  of  close  and  long-continued  thought 


50  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

destroyed — and  those  who  were  his  equals  in 
standing,  already  become  his  superiors.  Such  is 
the  thirst  for  knowledge — such  the  "  rush  of 
mind,"  that  the  man  who  stands  still  but  a  short 
time,  will  find  himself  outstripped  by  others  ;  his 
compeers  become  his  masters.  This  will  hold  as 
true  of  persons  engaged  in  manual-labor  occupa- 
tions, as  of  professional  men.  The  importance  of 
constant  attention  to  the  culture  of  your  minds,  is 
therefore  urged  upon  you  by  every  motive  of 
personal  enjoyment  and  usefulness.  Never  feel 
that  you  are  too  old  to  learn.  Waller,  by  incessant 
cultivation  of  his  taste  and  imagination,  lost  none 
of  his  poetical  power  at  eighty-two  ;  and  the  great 
Newton,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year,  and  only  a  few 
days  before  his  death,  was  found  improving  his 
"  Chronology." 

2.  As  a  matter  of  pecuniary  benefit  to  your- 
selves and  your  employers.  My  object  here  is  not 
to  urge  the  sordid  motive  of  money-making  as  a 
reason  for  intellectual  improvement,  but  to  illus- 
trate the  fact,  that  superior  intelligence  always 
contributes  to  increase  prosperity  in  business. 
Time  has  been,  when  the  converse  of  this  maxim 
was  held  to  be  sound  ; — that  the  more  ignorant  a 
person  was,  the  better  at  least  for  his  employer. 
Such  a  principle  befitted  the  feudal  institutions  of 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  51 

Europe,  and  was  twin-sister  of  the  papal  maxim, 
that  "  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion."  But 
the  progress  of  light  has  exploded  them  both.  In 
all  well-informed  communities,  it  is  now  univer- 
sally admitted,  that  the  labor  of  intelligent,  free, 
independent  operatives,  is  far  more  productive 
than  that  of  ignorant  serfs  or  slaves.  This  doc- 
trine is  advocated  by  the  most  distinguished  polit- 
ical economists,  such  as  Adam  Smith,  Say,  and 
Malthus.  What  enlightened  individual  or  com- 
pany but  would  prefer  to  employ,  so  far  as  the 
mere  matter  of  dollars  and  cents  is  concerned,  the 
services  of  persons  of  intelligence  and  self-respect, 
and  consequently,  of  skill  and  enterprise  ?  By  so 
doing,  they  find  their  account  in  the  superior 
quality  of  the  work  performed — in  the  diminished 
expense  of  keeping  their  tools  and  machinery  in 
repair — in  the  smaller  premium  paid  for  insurance 
and  supervision — and  in  partial  relief  from  taxes 
for  the  support  of  pauperism  and  the  prevention  of 
crime.  Vice  is  often  compelled  to  pay  homage  to 
virtue ;  but  it  is  a  homage  by  no  means  more  pro- 
found, than  that  which  ignorance  renders  to  intel- 
ligence. An  intelligent  agriculturalist — one  who 
understands  the  nature  of  different  soils,  the  best 
methods  of  cultivation,  and  the  proper  rotation  of 
crops,  will  be  far  more  successful  in  business,  than 


52  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

one  who  is  ignorant  of  the  scientific  principles  of 
husbandry.  The  merchant  of  intelligence  and 
forecast  more  readily  perceives  those  occasional 
tides  in  human  affairs,  which  bear  men  on  to 
fortune,  than  he  who  knows  but  little  of  the  state 
of  the  market,  and  the  condition  of  the  world.  In 
like  manner,  those  operatives  in  a  manufacturing 
establishment  who  are  the  most  intelligent  and 
enlightened,  will,  other  things  being  equal,  be  the 
most  skillful  in  the  prosecution  of  their  work — will 
command  the  highest  wages,  and  be  the  most  prof- 
itable to  their  employers.  The  principles  of  sound 
political  economy,  therefore,  offer  the  highest  pre- 
mium for  this  description  of  labor,  and  present  a 
cogent  motive  to  mental  improvement. 

It  is  important, 

3.  As  it  elevates  the  character  of  manufacturing 
pursuits.  There  is  a  strong  disposition  in  the 
public  mind,  to  compare  the  moral  character  of 
our  manufacturing  establishments  with  that  of 
those  in  Great  Britain.  Without  at  all  appreci- 
ating the  difference  in  the  educational  and  moral 
condition  of  the  two  countries,  in  the  habits  and 
institutions  of  society,  and  in  the  standing  and 
prospects  for  life  of  the  operatives,  many  have 
imbibed  the  uncharitable  and  groundless  impres- 
sion, that  the  manufacturing  establishments  of  our 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  53 

country  are  to  inherit  the  moral  character  of  their 
predecessors  in  the  old  world.  That  the  moral 
condition  of  most  of  the  transatlantic  manufactur- 
ing establishments  is  deplorable  indeed,  admits  of 
no  question.  In  a  speech  of  Lord  Chancellor 
Brougham,  in  1833,  he  says,  "ignorance  prevails 
in  Great  Britain  to  a  horrible  extent."  The 
British  and  Foreign  School  Society,  not  long  since 
made  this  memorable  declaration,  "  ENGLAND  is 
YET  UNEDUCATED."  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  a  speech 
made  on  a  public  occasion  in  1834,  repeatedly 
deplored  the  "practical  heathenism"  in  which 
thousands  of  the  population  of  Edinburgh  live. 
He  had  recourse  even  to  the  strong  figure,  that  it 
is  necessary  "  to  excavate  the  population,  firmly 
imbedded  in  a  mass  of  practical  heathenism." 
And  when  we  recollect,  that  more  than  seven 
eighths  of  the  population  of  Great  Britain  obtain 
their  living  by  labor,  and  that  manufactures  of 
many  descriptions,  are  prosecuted  to  an  extent 
which  has  no  parallel  in  any  other  country,  we 
can  have  no  doubt,  that  the  above  cited  declara- 
tions of  the  ignorance  which  prevails  there,  have 
emphatic  reference  to  the  operatives  in  the  manu- 
factories. Simpson,  in  his  "  Popular  Education," 
also  asks,  "  Who  has  not  felt  and  deplored,  in  his 
intercourse  with  nearly  the  whole  class  of  manual- 


54  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

laborers,  even  what  are  deemed  the  most  decent 
and  respectable,  the  mass  of  prejudice,  superstition 
and  general  ignorance,  which  he  is  doomed  to  en- 
counter ?  The  working  man,"  he  says,  "  rarely 
knows  how  to  better  his  lot  in  life,  by  rational  re- 
flection on  causes  and  consequences,  founded  on 
early  acquaintance  with  the  simpler  principles  of 
trade,  the  state  of  particular  employments,  the 
legitimate  relation  between  labor  and  capital,  and 
between  laborer  and  employer,  the  best  employ- 
ment of  surplus  earnings,  the  value  of  character, 
the  marketable  importance,  to  say  no  more,  of 
sober  and  moral  habits  and  intelligence  ;  in  short, 
on  any  practical  views  of  the  circumstances,  which 
influence  his  condition.  On  the  contrary,  he  is 
the  creature  of  impressions  and  impulses,  the 
unresisting  slave  of  sensual  appetites,  the  ready 
dupe  of  the  quack,  the  thrall  of  the  fanatic,  and, 
above  all,  the  passive  instrument  of  the  political 
agitator." 

Such,  according  to  English  testimony,  is  the 
mental  and  moral  condition  of  the  great  mass  of 
the  laborers  in  the  British  manufactories.  They 
are  so  profoundly  uninformed  as  to  their  own  posi- 
tion in  the  market  of  labor,  and  the  due  relation  of 
labor  and  capital,  that  they  are  readily  seduced  to 
join  combinations  to  extort  larger  wages  and  fewer 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  55 

hours,  both  of  which,  if  they  could  be  obtained, 
would,  in  their  present  condition,  only  be  misap- 
plied to  purposes  of  idleness  and  sensuality,  and 
of  course,  be  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing.  By 
joining  such  short-sighted  unions,  they  often  throw 
themselves  permanently  out  of  the  only  employ- 
ment with  which  they  are  acquainted,  and  plunge 
themselves  and  their  families  into  all  the  horrors 
of  starvation. 

That  the  manufacturers  of  our  country  will  ever 
sink  to  such  deep  degradation,  is,  by  no  means,  to 
be  expected.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  they  would 
reach  that  high  elevation  of  character,  which  is  so 
desirable  to  every  community,  and  which,  consid- 
ering the  nature  of  our  institutions,  it  is  so  easy  for 
them  to  attain,  the  foundations  of  such  intellectual 
and  moral  eminence  must  be  laid  in  the  thorough 
education  of  the  children  and  youth. 

II.  But,  in  such  communities  as  this,  there  are 

certain  obstacles  to  great  intellectual  culture,  which 

0 

deserve  our  consideration. 

1.  The  first  of  these  is,  want  of  time.  From 
twelve  to  thirteen  hours  a  day,*  you  are  engaged 

*  A  large  proportion  of  the  youth,  to  whom  these  Lectures 
were  addressed,  are  engaged  in  the  cotton  manufacture.  This 
fact  will  explain  a  few  other  expressions  and  allusions  in  these 
pages. 


56  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

in  your  manual-labor  employments.  If  you  add 
to  the  hours  thus  occupied,  those  which  are  de- 
manded by  other  necessary  avocations  and  by 
sleep,  the  time  which  you  can  devote  to  the  direct 
improvement  of  your  minds  is  very  little.  This, 
it  must  be  acknowledged,  is  a  serious  obstacle  to 
great  literary  acquirements.  But,  while  your  time 
for  intellectual  improvement  is  limited,  you  have 
this  advantage,  that  you  know  just  what  time  you 
can  devote  to  it.  The  perfect  system,  with  which 
your  manual-labor  employments  are  conducted, 
enables  you  to  calculate,  with  great  accuracy,  the 
time  which  you  can  devote  to  study.  This  re- 
deeming circumstance  is  one  of  no  inconsiderable 
importance,  and  gives  you  a  decided  advantage 
for  mental  improvement  over  those  classes  of 
society,  whose  ordinary  business  is  less  systematic. 
2.  Another  obstacle  is  lassitude  of  body  and 
mind.  A  general  languor  of  the  physical  and 
mental  powers  is  created  by  long-continued  ap- 
plication to  business.  After  spending  twelve  or 
thirteen  hours  in  labor,  a  person  is  quite  unfitted 
for  close  mental  application.  In  order  to  prosecute 
study  the  most  successfully,  the  body  and  mind 
must  be  in  an  active,  vigorous  state.  Besides, 
that  discipline  of  mind,  which  will  enable  one  to 
accomplish  much,  even  in  untoward  situations,  is 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  57 

very  difficult  to  be  acquired  under  the  almost 
ceaseless  pressure  of  business.  These  conditions 
present  serious  impediments  to  your  progress  in 
study.  But  do  not  feel  that  their  influence  can- 
not be  counteracted.  Simpson,  the  mathemati- 
cian, by  untiring  perseverance  in  mental  applica- 
tion, rose  from  the  weaver's  loom  to  the  first 
rank  of  scientific  men. 

3.  There  is  no  great  demand  for  high  literary 
attainments.  In  academical  and  professional  life, 
there  is  incessant  conflict  of  mind  with  mind. 
There,  the  premium,  which  public  sentiment 
awards,  is  awarded  only  to  mental  productions  of 
a  high  order.  In  such  a  market,  distinguished 
efforts  of  mind  are  the  articles  in  demand.  But, 
in  all  pursuits  where  there  is  no  special  demand 
for  great  intellectual  acquirements,  there  will,  of 
course,  be  less  prospect  that  they  will  be  made. 
The  river  will  rise  no  higher  than  the  fountain. 
The  supply  will  not  be  likely  to  exceed  the 
demand.  No  employments  of  the  handicraft 
character  present  the  highest  inducements  to  in- 
tellectual improvement.  Those  persons  who 
who  have  no  special  taste  for  improvement,  will 
therefore  be  in  danger  of  resting  satisfied  with 
barely  that  measure  of  education,  which  may 
enable  them  to  ply  their  mechanical  operations 
5 


58  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

with  acceptance.  Such  are  the  prominent  obsta- 
cles to  intellectual  improvement,  which  exist 
among  a  manufacturing  population. 

III.     It  now  remains  to  consider  the  means  of 
overcoming  them. 

1.  Attach  a  high  degree  of  importance  to  edu- 
cation. A  man's  principles  will  affect  his  prac- 
tice. If  education  be  undervalued,  it  will  be 
likely  to  be  neglected ;  if  its  vast  importance  be 
appreciated,  it  will  receive  corresponding  attention. 
To  argue  the  importance  of  education,  in  this  en- 
lightened day,  would  seem  to  be  as  superfluous  a 
task,  as  an  attempt  to  demonstrate  an  axiom. 
And  yet  it  is  the  theme  of  almost  every  tongue. 
It  is  advocated  in  every  variety  of  form  and  man- 
ner. It  is  urged  in  the  tract,  the  newspaper,  the 
periodical,  and  the  more  stately  volume.  It  is 
the  theme  of  the  teacher,  the  professional  man, 
the  poet,  the  patriot,  the  philanthropist,  the  states- 
man. For  a  few  years  past,  perhaps  no  subject 
has  found  so  many  eloquent  panegyrists.  And, 
yet,  one  half  of  its  importance  to  individuals  or  to 
communities  has  not  been  told.  "  An  angel's 
lyre  "  would  not  suffice  to  sound  its  praises,  nor  a 
seraph's  eloquence  to  do  justice  to  its  merits. 
Let  its  immeasurable  importance  to  man,  in  his 
individual  and  social  capacities,  be  impressed  upon 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  59 

your  hearts.  Next  to  the  conservative  power  of 
the  gospel,  we  must  look  to  education  to  give 
perpetuity  to  our  republican  institutions,  and  to 
preserve  our  cities  and  villages  from  riots,  incen- 
diarism and  blood.  A  well-educated  individual  is 
a  blessing  to  himself  and  to  the  world.  A  well- 
educated  community  will  be  a  prosperous  commu- 
nity, and  its  example  will  operate  salutary  changes 
on  the  other  side  of  the  globe. 

2.  Rise  early.  'Perhaps  you  may  think  this 
advice  gratuitous,  when  your  business  often  calls 
you  to  rise  before  the  sun.  But  there  is  little 
danger  of  rising  too  early.  The  mind  is  more 
vigorous,  early  in  the  morning,  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  day.  Milton  wrote  much  of  the 
"Paradise  Lost"  before  breakfast.  Though  to 
him  did  not  return 

"  Day,  or  the  sweet  approach  of  ev'n,  or  morn, 
So  thick  a  drop  serene  had  quenched  his  orbs, 
Or  dim  suffusion  veil'd," 

yet  some  of  the  most  splendid  passages  of  that 
immortal  poem  were  written  under  the  inspiration 
of  early  dawn.  Dean  Swift  says,  "  I  never  knew 
any  man  come  to  greatness  and  eminence  who  lay 
in  bed  of  a  morning."  The  celebrated  Buffon 
agreed  to  give  his  servant  a  crown  every  day,  if 
he  would  get  him  out  of  bed  by  six  in  the  morning. 


60  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

His  servant  persevered,  and  his  master  afterwards 
said,  "  I  am  indebted  to  poor  Joseph  "  (his  ser- 
vant) "  for  ten  or  a  dozen  volumes  of  my  works." 

Frederick  II.  of  Prussia,  gave  strict  orders  never 
to  be  allowed  to  sleep  later  than  four  in  the 
morning.  Peter  the  Great  always  rose  before 
daylight.  Dr.  Doddridge  declares,  that  his  Com- 
mentary on  the  New  Testament,  and  most  of  his 
other  writings,  were  the  result  of  his  habit  of  rising 
at  five  o'clock.  "  One  of  the  most  celebrated 
writers  in  England  was  lately  asked,  how  it  was 
that  he  wrote  so  much,  and  yet  from  ten  in  the 
forenoon  was  at  leisure  through  the  day  ; — '  Be- 
cause I  begin  to  write  at  three  in  the  morning,' 
was  the  reply."*  One  half  hour  devoLed  to 
reading,  before  you  enter  upon  business,  will 
furnish  you  with  materials  for  profitable  reflection 
through  the  day.  Such  a  practice,  perseveringly 
pursued,  will  yield  you  a  stock  of  knowledge, 
which  some  graduates  of  our  colleges  can  hardly 
be  said  to  possess. 

3.  Improve  fragments  of  time.  "  Drops  added 
to  drops,"  says  the  Arabian  proverb,  "  constitute 
the  ocean."  The  pyramids  of  Egypt  were  reared 
by  degrees.  The  coral-insect,  by  beginning  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean  and  adding  one  grain  at  a  time, 

*  Todd's  Student's  Manual. 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  61 

has  built  those  beautiful,  numerous  and  extensive 
islands,  which  adorn  the  Pacific.  It  has  been 
said,  that  "  he  that  shall  walk  with  vigor  only 
three  hours  a  day,  will  pass  in  seven  years  a  space, 
equal  to  the  circumference  of  the  globe."  Luther 
was  asked,  "  How,  amid  all  his  travels  and  active 
labors,  he  could  have  made  so  perfect  a  translation 
of  the  whole  Bible."  "  No  day  without  a  verse," 
was  his  reply.  This  slow  process,  in  due  time, 
carried  him  through. 

Of  nothing  are  men  more  prodigal  than  of  those 
little  portions  of  time,  which  intervene  between 
their  regular  hours  of  business,  and  yet  it  is  per- 
fectly astonishing  how  much  may  be  accomplished, 
by  devoting  such  fragments  to  some  valuable 
purpose.  "  It  is  a  virtue,"  says  Seneca,  "  to  be 
covetous  of  time."  God  has  given  us  all  time 
enough,  if  properly  improved,  to  make  us  intel- 
ligent, wise,  arid  happy.  Appreciate  far  more 
highly  those  little  intervals,  which  your  business 
leaves  you  every  day.  Appropriate  them  to  the 
improvement  of  your  minds. 

"  On  all  important  time,  through  every  age, 
Though  much  and  warm  the  wise  have  urged,  the  man 
Is  yet  unborn,  who  duly  weighs  an  hour." 

"  Moments  seize."  Your  happiness,  your  use- 
fulness are  on  their  wing. 


62  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

4.  Let  your  reading  be  select.  We  live  in  an 
age  when  the  remark  of  Solomon  seems  to  be 
verified,  "of  making  many  books  there  is  no  end." 
No  scholar  even  can  or  ought  to  read  the  whole. 
Much  less  can  persons,  whose  business  is  manual- 
labor.  Considering  the  small  portions  of  time 
which  you  can  devote  to  this  employment,  there 
is  special  reason  why  your  reading  should  be 
select.  It  is  far  better  to  read  but  few  books  of 
the  right  kind,  and  read  them  well,  than  to  range 
superficially  over  the  whole  field  of  literature. 
Apply  to  some  judicious  friend  to  direct  you  to  a 
proper  course  of  reading.  Especially,  avoid  bad 
books.  Voltaire  was  made  an  infidel  for  life,  by 
committing  to  memory,  at  the  early  age  of  three 
years,  a  deistical  pamphlet.  The  influence  of 
books,  in  forming  the  taste  and  in  giving  direction 
to  life,  is  incalculable.  The  reading  of  Spenser's 
Fairy  Queen,  in  his  mother's  apartment,  made 
Cowley,  as  he  says,  "  irrecoverably  a  poet."  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds's  taste  for  painting  was  first  ex- 
cited, by  reading  Richardson's  Treatise  on  that 
subject.  The  reading  of  but  one  book,  and  that 
often  a  tract,  frequently  gives  a  cast  to  a  person's 
character,  and  a  bent  to  his  destiny  which  last 
forever.  Let  your  books,  then,  be  well  chosen 
and  thoroughly  read,  and  their  influence  will  be 


INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION.  63 

seen  in  the  enlargement  of  your  understandings, 
in  the  refinement  of  your  taste,  and  in  the  aug- 
mentation of  your  usefulness. 

5.  Habitually  attend  upon  the  public  instruc- 
tions of  the  gospel.  No  one  knows  how  much 
we  are  indebted  to  the  gospel,  for  its  improvement 
of  the  intellectual  powers  of  man.  Its  simple, 
solemn  and  sublime  announcements  are  admirably 
adapted  to  chasten  and  give  wing  to  the  imagi- 
nation, to  mature  the  judgment,  to  strengthen  the 
memory,  and  to  invigorate  the  conscience.  The 
infant  Sabbath  school  scholar  has  an  amount  of 
useful  religious  knowledge,  to  which  the  wisest 
heathen  can  make  no  pretension. 

In  this  connection,  let  me  urge  you  to  avail 
yourselves  of  the  inestimable  advantages  for  in- 
tellectual as  well  as  moral  culture  offered  by  the 
Bible  class  and  Sabbath  school.  These  institu- 
tions are  pre-eminently  adapted  to  your  circum- 
stances, while  engaged  in  manufacturing  pursuits. 
If  properly  improved,  they  will  compensate,  in  no 
inconsiderable  degree,  for  your  want  of  time  for 
reading  and  study. 

But  after  all,  the  pulpit  is  the  grand  source  of 
mental  and  moral  illumination.  It  is  a  radiating 
point,  diffusing  on  every  side,  light,  intelligence, 
wisdom.  A  church-going  community  is  a  well- 


64  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

educated  community.  The  Bible,  which  it  is  the 
business  of  the  pulpit  to  expound,  is  an  exhaustless 
source  of  information.  Sir  William  Jones^  who 
was  master  of  twenty-six  languages,  and  who,  of 
course,  must  be  regarded  as  a  competent  judge  on 
such  a  subject,  says,  "  The  Scriptures  contain, 
independently  of  their  divine  origin,  more  true 
sublimity,  more  exquisite  beauty,  purer  morality, 
more  important  history,  and  finer  strains  both  of 
poetry  and  eloquence,  than  could  be  collected, 
within  the  same  compass,  from  all  other  books 
that  were  ever  composed  in  any  age,  or  in  any 
idiom."  Much  of  the  intellectual,  as  well  as 
moral  greatness  of  such  men  as  Bacon,  Newton, 
Boyle,  Locke,  Hale,  and  Milton,  is  to  be  attributed 
to  a  profound  study  of  the  Bible.  If  then,  my 
young  friends,  you  would  be  "  as  plants  grown  up 
in  your  youth,  and  as  corner-stones  polished  after 
the  similitude  of  a  palace,"  be  the  habitual,  humble 
students  of  the  word  of  God.  Let  your  seats  in 
the  sanctuary  always  be  filled.  Prosecute  with 
vigor,  and  by  all  the  means  in  your  power,  a 
course  of  intellectual  improvement ;  and  that  im- 
provement, if  connected  with  holiness  of  heart, 
will  fit  you  for  more  elevated  communion  with  the 
minds  of  heaven. 


LECTURE   III. 

ESTABLISHED     AND     CORRECT     RELIGIOUS 
PRINCIPLE  S. 

DAN.  in.  18. — But  if  not,  be  it  known  unto  thee,  O  king,  that  we  will  not 
serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden  image  which  thou  hast  set  up. 

SUCH  was  the  decisive  reply  of  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abednego,  three  young  men,  to 
Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  when  he  com- 
manded them  to  worship  a  golden  image  which  he 
had  set  up,  on  pain  of  being  cast  into  a  burning 
fiery  furnace.  Nebuchadnezzar  had  made  an 
enormous  image  of  gold,  about  ninety  feet  in 
height,  and  placed  it  in  the  midst  of  an  extensive 
plain.  He  then  issued  a  proclamation  to  all  the 
princes,  the  governors,  the  captains,  the  judges, 
the  treasurers,  the  counsellors,  the  sheriffs,  and  all 
the  rulers  of  the  hundred  and  twenty  provinces 
over  which  he  reigned,  to  assemble  together  to 
celebrate  the  dedication  of  the  image.  In  obe- 


66  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

dience  to  the  royal  mandate,  an  immense  number 
of  the  officers  of  his  kingdom,  from  all  parts  of 
the  empire,  assembled  in  the  plain  of  Dura,  in  the 
presence  of  the  idol.  When  every  thing  was  in 
readiness,  "a  herald  cried  aloud,  To  you  it  is  com- 
manded, O  people,  nations,  and  languages,  that  at 
what  time  ye  hear  the  sound  of  the  cornet,  flute, 
harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  dulcimer,  and  all  kinds  of 
music,  ye  fall  down  and  worship  the  golden  image 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  hath  set  up  :  and 
whoso  falleth  not  down  and  worshipped!  shall  the 
same  hour  be  cast  into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery 
furnace."  When  the  concerted  signal  was  given, 
all  the  people,  nations,  and  languages,  with  the 
exception  of  these  three  young  men,  fell  down 
and  worshipped  the  golden  image.  Report  was 
immediately  carried  to  the  king,  that  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abednego,  refused  to  join  in  the 
general  homage,  which  was  paid  to  the  idol. 
Then  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  his  rage  and  fury,  sum- 
moned these  young  men  before  him.  And  he 
spake  and  said  unto  them,  "  Is  it  true,  O  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abednego,  do  not  ye  serve  my  gods, 
nor  worship  the  golden  image  which  I  have  set 
up?"  He  then  offered  them  another  trial.  "Now 
if  ye  be  ready  that  at  what  time  ye  hear  the  sound 
of  the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery,  and 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  67 

dulcimer,  and  all  kinds  of  music,  ye  fall  down  and 
worship  the  image  which  I  have  made  ;  well :  but 
if  ye  worship  not,  ye  shall  be  cast  the  same  hour 
into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery  furnace  ;  and 
who  is  that  God  that  shall  deliver  you  out  of  my 
hand  ?  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,  an- 
swered and  said  to  the  king,  O  Nebuchadnezzar, 
we  are  not  careful  to  answer  thee  in  this  matter. 
If  it  be  so,  our  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to 
deliver  us  from  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and  he 
will  deliver  us  out  of  thine  hand,  O  king.  But  if 
not,  be  it  known  unto  thee,  O  king,  that  we  will 
not  serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden  image 
which  thou  hast  set  up."  Here  was  a  signal  ex- 
ample of  inflexible  adherence  to  sound  religious 
principles.  These  youth  were  Jews.  They  had 
been  carried  captive  from  Jerusalem  to  Babylon. 
They  were  firmly  attached  to  the  only  true  re- 
ligion, and  to  worship  the  golden  image  would  be 
a  violation  of  the  first  and  second  commandments 
of  the  decalogue.  They  had  correct  religious 
principles,  and  they  would  not  sacrifice  them, 
though  the  burning  fiery  furnace  was  in  sight.  I 
shall  not  pursue  the  sacred  narrative  further,  and 
rehearse  the  increased  fury  of  the  king  —  the 
heating  of  the  furnace  to  a  seven  fold  intensity — 
the  casting  of  the  young  men  into  the  terrible 


68  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

flame — their  miraculous  rescue  by  the  interposition 
of  Jehovah — the  astonishment  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
when  he  found  they  had  received  no  injury — and 
their  subsequent  promotion  in  the  province  of 
Babylon. 

My  present  object  is,  to  invite  your  attention, 
with  this  example  before  us,  to  the  importance  of 
your  having — 

ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT  RELIGIOUS  PRIN- 
CIPLES. 

The  subject  naturally  divides  itself  into  two 
branches. 

I.  Your  religious  principles  should  be  estab- 
lished.    And, 

II.  They  should  be  correct. 

I.  You  should  have  established  religious  prin- 
ciples. 

In  all  communities,  and  especially  in  those  com- 
posed, as  this  is,  of  people  from  different  parts  of 
the  country  and  of  the  world,  there  is  apt  to  be 
not  only  a  great  variety  of  religious  opinion,  but 
also  a  great  want  of  religious  principle.  By  a 
certain  class,  it  is  deemed  to  be  unbigoted  and 
popular  to  have  no  settled  principles  on  the  subject 
of  religion.  In  their  view,  one  system  of  doctrine 
is  about  as  good  as  another ;  and  to  have  no 
system,  is  quite  as  good  as  to  have  any.  Hence, 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  69 

they  are  continually  in  the  wind.  They  attend 
one  meeting  to-day,  another  the  next  Sabbath, 
and  a  third  the  Sabbath  after,  and  approve  of  all 
the  sentiments  they  hear,  although  they  may  be 
contradictory,  or  disapprove  of  the  whole  because 
they  are  contradictory.  Such  a  state  of  mind  is 
truly  dangerous  and  deplorable.  It  may  serve  to 
increase  your  estimate  of  the  immense  importance 
of  established  principles,  to  take  a  view  of  the 
causes  and  evils  of  instability  of  religious  opinion. 

Among  the  causes  of  this  instability,  the  follow- 
ing are  the  more  prominent. 

1.  A  peculiar  structure  of  the  mental  constitu- 
tion. Some  persons  seem  to  be  by  nature  more 
unstable  than  others.  This  appears  in  all  their 
operations  in  relation  to  every  subject.  You  see 
it  in  their  plans,  which  are  frequently  made,  and 
as  frequently  relinquished.  You  see  it  in  their 
opinions ;  suddenly  formed,  and  as  suddenly 
changed.  You  see  it  in  their  principles ;  moved 
by  some  to-day,  and  by  opposite  ones  to-morrow. 
They  are  the  creatures  of  mere  impulse.  Having 
no  mind  of  their  own,  they  calculate  to  be  led  by 
others.  Independence  is  no  ingredient  in  such  a 
character.  This  constitutional  instability  is  carried 
into  the  subject  of  religion.  Their  principles,  if 
they  can  be  said  to  have  any,  are  so  pliant,  that 


70  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

they  easily  accommodate  themselves  to  all  the 
sinuosities  of  religious  opinion  which  exist.  Hence, 
it  is  not  a  little  curious  to  observe,  what  different 
opinions  are  formed  of  them  by  others.  By  some, 
they  are  called  Universalists  ;  by  others,  Unita- 
rians ;  by  others,  infidels  ;  and  by  others,  men  of 
sound  principle.  And  all  this,  because,  having  no 
fixed  sentiments,  they  accommodated  their  prin- 
ciples to  the  companies  into  which  they  happened 
to  fall.  A  part  of  the  instability  under  considera- 
tion, may  be  accounted  for  on  the  score  of  this 
peculiarity  of  mental  structure. 

2.  Defective  early  religious  education.  It  is 
affecting  to  see  what  multitudes  of  children  and 
youth  are  growing  up,  in  this  age  of  biblical  in- 
struction, without  any  religious  education.  Sup- 
pose you  were  to  collect  together  indiscriminately 
one  thousand  youth,  who  belong  in  this  village, 
and  who  came  from  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  should  inquire  of  them  all  what  was  their  re- 
ligious education  at  home,  and  they  should  give 
you  an  honest  reply,  what  would  probably  be  the 
development  ?  You  would  doubtless  find  not  a 
few  results  of  great  parental  faithfulness.  Many 
of  these  youth  would  tell  you  how  their  parents 
dedicated  them  to  God  in  baptism  in  their  infancy, 
and  with  many  prayers  and  tears  set  them  apart 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  71 

to  be  the  Lord's  forever.  They  would  tell  you 
how  their  very  earliest  recollections  are  associated 
with  the  subject  of  religion  ;  how,  as  their  little 
minds  expanded,  a  pious  father  or  mother  sowed 
in  them  the  good  seed  of  the  word,  and  prayed 
for  the  future  harvest.  They  would  tell  you  how 
a  father's  counsels,  or  a  mother's  supplications  pre- 
served the  tottering  steps  of  their  infancy,  and 
sobered  the  playfulness  of  their  childhood,  and 
rescued  them  from  the  temptations  of  their  youth. 
They  would  tell  you  how  the  frequent,  affectionate 
and  judicious  conversation  of  their  parents  with 
them  about  their  souls,  and  the  Bible,  and  God, 
and  heaven,  and  hell,  planted  religious  principles 
within  them,  as  immovable  as  the  everlasting 
hills.  And  they  would  tell  you  that  they  would 
not  barter  those  baptisms,  and  counsels,  and 
prayers,  and  tears,  for  all  the  wealth  of  creation. 
This  class  of  our  youth  are  firmly  fixed  in  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  You  know  where  to 
find  them.  They  are  not  carried  about  by  every 
wind  of  doctrine. 

"  Immortal  principles  forbid  " 

them  to  make  shipwreck  of  the  faith,  or  of  their 
souls. 

But   you   would    find,   perhaps,   that   a   large 


72  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

majority  of  this  collection  of  youth  were  very 
differently  educated  at  home.  Some  would  tell 
you,  with  weeping,  that  their  father  and  mother 
died  when  they  were  quite  small,  and  that  they 
were  left  to  the  instructions  of  others,  who  felt 
less  interested  in  their  welfare.  Others  might  tell 
you  that  their  father  is  an  Universalist ;  that  he 
neglects  the  sanctuary  —  opposes  the  Sabbath 
school  and  the  temperance  society — -never  prays 
in  his  family,  nor  instructs  his  children  in  the 
things  of  religion,  unless  it  be  to  teach  them  to 
hate  its  distinguishing  truths.  Others  might  tell 
you  that  their  parents,  though  strictly  orthodox 
and  moral,  are  not  pious ;  and  that  they  themselves 
were  never  taken  away  to  the  closet  and  prayed 
with  alone,  or  solemnly  addressed  on  the  subject 
of  their  salvation.  In  short,  if  you  should  ascer- 
tain how  this  collection  of  youth  were  educated  at 
home,  you  would  be  profoundly  astonished  at  the 
small  amount  of  sound,  direct  religious  instruction 
which  they  received.  This  is  another  prominent 
pause  of  their  present  instability  on  the  subject  of 
religion. 

3.  The  existence  of  numerous  denominations  of 
Christians.  That  the  Christian  church  is  divided 
into  numerous  sects,  is  a  fact  which,  though  it  may 
be  attended  with  some  advantages,  is  replete  with 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  73 

serious  evils.  Not  the  least  of  these  evils  is  the 
scepticism,  which  it  generates  in  the  minds  of  the 
young.  Many  of  them  are  led  by  it  to  the  conclu- 
sion, that  it  matters  little  what  opinions  they  em- 
brace, or  whether  they  embrace  any.  The  infer- 
ence they  draw  from  the  premises  is  utterly  adverse 
to  their  establishment  in  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints.  Many  a  youth  is  held,  for  years  if  not 
for  life,  in  a  state  of  suspense  on  a  subject,  where 
definite  opinions  are  infinitely  necessary,  because 
professed  Christians  are  no  more  harmonious  in 
their  faith.  Such  youth  are  subject  to  the  attract- 
ing influences  of  different  denominations,  and  are 
held  in  equilibrium  between  them  all.  The  con- 
sequence is,  that  they  have  no  settled  opinions. 
They  are  carried  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine. 
They  are  "  ever  learning,  but  never  able  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  these  circumstances,  many  of  them 
embrace  the  grosser  forms  of  error,  and  make 
shipwreck  of  their  immortal  interests.  It  will  not 
be  known  till  the  disclosures  of  the  last  day,  how 
much  denominational  differences  among  Christians 
have  done  in  diffusing  infidelity,  and  in  whelming 
souls  in  perdition. 

4.  The  misconduct  of  some   Christian  profes- 
sors.    It  pleases  God,  for  holy  and  wise  reasons, 
6 


74  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

occasionally  to  suffer  his  real  children  to  fall  into 
sin,  and  thus  to  bring  serious  reproach  on  his 
cause.  In  this  sense,  he  suffered  David  to  fall, 
and  Peter  to  fall.  It  also  pleases  Him  to  have  a 
church,  in  this  probationary  state,  which  is  by  no 
means  free  from  unholy  members.  Hypocrites 
and  self-deceivers  are  often  found  within  the  hal- 
lowed pale  of  his  visible  kingdom.  One  of  the 
twelve  disciples  of  our  Lord  was  a  traitor  and  a 
devil.  Five  of  the  ten  virgins  were  foolish.  It 
is  quite  possible,  that  these  relative  proportions  of 
the  unsound  to  the  sound  obtain  among  the 
churches  of  the  present  day.  Here,  then,  in  the  in- 
consistency between  the  professions  and  the  practice 
of  many  visible  believers,  we  find  a  powerful  cause 
of  the  unsettled  state  of  religious  opinion  among 
the  youth.  But  I  would  here  enter  my  solemn 
protest  against  the  practice  of  making  religion 
answerable  for  the  misconduct  of  its  enemies,  or 
the  indiscretions  of  its  friends.  These  delinquen- 
cies are  not  the  fruits  of  religion,  but  of  irreligion. 
They  are  the  offspring,  not  of  piety,  but  of  de- 
pravity. A  great  increase  of  holiness  in  the 
church,  instead  of  multiplying  such  evils,  would 
work  their  extermination.  Indeed,  there  is  no 
other  remedy.  The  only  possible  remedy  is  a 
great,  an  indefinite  augmentation  of  that  very 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  75 

spirit,  which  is  ungenerously  charged  with  being 
the  author  of  the  evils  in  question.  And  yet  it 
must  be  admitted,  that  to  the  misconduct  of  some 
Christian  professors,  much  of  the  practical  infi- 
delity of  the  young  is  referable.  That  a  cause  of 
such  infidelity  should  exist  within  the  precincts  of 
the  church,  is  deeply  to  be  deplored  ;  but,  on  that 
account,  to  abandon  the  great  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  plunge  into  the  abyss  of  scepticism,  is 
the  height  of  infatuation. 

But  the  greatest  cause  of  instability  of  religious 
principle  is 

5.  A  depraved  heart.  This  is  the  fountain- 
head  from  which  this  bitter  stream  flows.  When 
you  see  a  young  man  vascillating  between  opposite 
religious  opinions — balancing  between  truth  and 
error,  you  may  know  that  he  is  under  the  influence 
of  a  depraved  heart.  Such  halting  between  two  , 
opinions — opinions  as  wide  asunder,  in  their 
nature  and  influence,  as  heaven  is  from  hell,  is  an 
infallible  indication  of  deep-seated  depravity. 
Unregenerate  men  do  not  love  the  truth.  There 
is  something  in  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  which  excites  their  strong  aversion.  Now, 
the  difficulty  is  not  in  these  truths,  for  they  are 
holy,  just,  and  good  ;  but  it  lies  in  the  disposition 
of  their  hearts.  Their  hearts  are  "  desperately 


76  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

wicked."  This  is  the  principal  cause  of  the  fluc- 
tuation of  their  religious  principles. 

Let  us  now  look  at  some  of  the  evils  of  this 
instability. 

1.  It  tends  to  universal  scepticism.  When  the 
mind  becomes  unsettled  on  the  main  points  of 
Christianity,  none  can  tell  how  far  the  evil  will 
spread.  It  is  like  the  letting  out  of  water.  Open 
but  a  small  orifice  in  the  embankment,  and  soon 
the  whole  will  be  swept  away.  A  small  leak,  un- 
less stopped,  will  sink  the  largest  ship.  A  single 
spark  may  wrap  half  a  city  in  flames.  A  young 
man,  with  no  fixed  religious  principles,  is  like  a 
vessel  at  sea  without  chart,  or  compass,  or  helm, 
the  sport  of  every  tempest,  and  liable  to  be  driven 
to  a  returnless  distance  from  port.  The  spirit  of 
scepticism,  when  orice  it  obtains  possession  of  the 
heart,  spreads  like  contagion.  It  soon  extends  to 
all  the  great  and  essential  truths  of  revealed  reli- 
gion— to  the  doctrines  of  natural  theology — and 
to  the  fundamental  principles  of  sound  morality. 
Its  creed  is  summarily  this  ; — "  I  believe  in  all 
unbelief." 

Now  I  appeal  to  all  the  youth  before  me,  and 
ask,  can  this  be  a  desirable  state  of  mind  ?  Does 
it  confer  happiness  ?  Or  rather,  is  it  not  the  very 
essence  of  misery  ?  Let  experience  judge. 


PRINCIPLES.  77 

2.  It  precludes  serious  and  long  continued  re- 
flection on  the  interests  of  the  soul.  That  the 
interests  of  the  soul  are  sufficiently  momentous  to 
claim  your  most  serious  and  persevering  attention, 
I  will  not  insult  your  understandings  to  argue. 
Surely  if  there  be  any  interests  below  the  sun, 
which  challenge  your  first  regard,  they  are  these. 
If  there  be  any  subject  on  which  settled,  as  well 
as  sound  principles  are  important,  it  is  that  of  your 
eternal  destiny.  Now,  my  position  is,  that  the 
unsettled,  fluctuating  principles  of  some  youth,  on 
the  subject  of  religion,  are  most  adverse  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  soul.  They  close  the  av- 
enues of  truth.  They  preclude  deep  seriousness. 
They  render  protracted  reflection  on  the  interests 
of  the  soul  impossible.  No  sooner  is  the  attention 
arrested,  than  the  habit  of  doubting  comes  to  its 
relief.  No  sooner  is  the  person  alarmed,  than  his 
habitual  scepticism  administers  an  opiate  to  con- 
science, and  quiets  his  distress.  His  seasons  of 
seriousness,  which  are  "  few  and  far  between," 
are  not  of  sufficient  duration  to  annihilate  his 
spirit  of  scepticism.  In  this  contest  between  so- 
licitude and  thoughtlessness,  the  worse  ordinarily 
get  the  mastery  of  the  better  principles.  This 
process  is  likely  to  be  repeated  as  often  as  con- 
science admonishes  him  ;  till  she  gradually  ceases 


78  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

to  remonstrate,  and  he  is  swept  down  the  current 
of  life  to  that  precipice,  where  all  hope  expires, 
and  the  last  plunge  must  be  made,  and  damnation 
begins. 

This  instability  is 

3.  A  fatal  obstacle  to  your  embracing  religion. 
1  say  this  obstacle  is  fatal  to  your  salvation  ;  and 
I  say  so  advisedly,  and  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
closing its  true  character  and  results.  I  would, 
indeed,  set  no  limits  to  the  omnipotence  of  divine 
grace.  We  are  not  called  upon  to  determine  what 
God  can  do,  even  in  these  most  adverse  circum- 
stances ;  but  what,  according  to  his  ordinary  laws 
of  operation,  he  may  be  expected  to  do.  With 
this  rule  of  reasoning,  I  may  safely  pronounce 
your  situation  hopeless,  so  long  as  your  religious 
principles  are  unsettled.  There  are  no  data,  on 
which  to  build  an  argument  to  urge  you  to  re- 
pentance. It  would  be  like  attempting  to  erect 
an  Egyptian  pyramid  upon  the  restless  waves  of 
the  ocean.  You  must  have  some  fixed  principles, 
before  the  gospel  can  take  effect.  If,  then,  you 
value  eternal  life,  if  you  have  a  soul  worth  more 
than  all  the  wealth  of  the  universe,  and  if  that  soul 
cannot  be  saved,  except  through  the  medium  of 
certain  principles  which  tend  to  conversion,  what 
words  can  express  the  importance  of  those  prin- 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  79 

ciples  ?  The  holding  of  those  principles  will  not, 
indeed,  insure  you  eternal  life,  but  the  persevering 
rejection  of  them  will  inevitably  bar  your  entrance 
into  it. 

Unsettled  principles  on  the  subject  of  religion, 
4.  Will  prepare  you  for  a  gloomy  death,  and  a 
hopeless  eternity.  I  will  illustrate  this  point,  by 
referring  you  to  a  few  examples.  Hobbes,  a  man 
of  sceptical  principles,  found  the  grave  shrouded 
in  such  impervious  gloom,  that  he  exclaimed,  with 
his  dying  breath,  "  I  am  going  to  take  a  leap  in 
the  dark."  Gibbon,  only  twenty-four  hours  before 
he  died,  to  divert  his  attention  from  the  scene 
before  him,  set  himself  to  calculating  the  pro- 
bability that  he  might  live  fifteen  years,  and  con- 
fessed that  as  life  wore  away,  it  gave  "  a  browner 
tint  to  the  prospects  of  man."  Hume,  to  smother 
the  awful  reflections,  which,  in  his  last  moments, 
crowded  upon  his  soul,  tried  to  assume  the  ap- 
pearance of  entire  unconcern.  He  jokes  about 
Lucian,  and  Charon,  and  the  crazy  boat,  and  the 
fabled  Styx.  He  frames  various  reasons,  which 
he  might  assign  for  delaying  his  transmission.  He 
tries  games  at  whist.  He  revises  his  infidel 
writings,  and  finishes  his  Essay  recommending 
suicide  to  all  who  are  in  trouble,  and  died  as  a  fool 
dieth.  Paine,  in  his  last  moments  cried  out,  "  O 


80  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

Lord,  help  me  !  O  Christ,  help  me  ! "  He  was 
afraid  to  be  left  alone.  He  declared,  "If  the  devil 
has  an  agent  on  earth,  I  am  the  one."  Being 
asked,  whether  he  wished  to  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  with  his  characteristic 
scepticism  "  strong  in  death,"  he  replied,  "  I  have 
no  wish  to  believe  on  that  subject ; "  and  yet,  a 
few  moments  after,  he  invoked  the  name  of  the 
Saviour,  in  a  tone  of  voice  that  alarmed  the  house. 
In  one  of  his  paroxysms  of  mental  agony,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  I  think  I  can  say,  what  they  make  Jesus 
Christ  to  say, — "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  ?  "  When  Voltaire  thought 
himself  dying,  he  sent  for  the  Abbe  Gauthier, 
crying  out,  "  I  do  not  wish  to  have  my  body  cast 
into  the  common  sewer."  As  death  approached, 
his  terrors  overcame  him.  D'Alembert,  Diderot, 
and  about  twenty  others  of  his  sceptical  associates 
beset  his  apartment  to  reassure  and  comfort  him  in 
his  last  agonies ;  but  he  would  curse  them,  and 
exclaim,  "  Begone,  it  is  you  who  have  brought  me 
to  my  present  state."  One  moment,  he  would 
cry,  "  O  Christ !  "  "  O  Jesus  Christ !  "  the  next, 
he  would  blaspheme.  His  physician,  calling  in  to 
administer  relief,  thunderstruck,  retired.  The 
Mareshal  de  Richelieu  fled  from  his  bedside,  de- 
claring it  to  be  a  sight  too  terrible  to  be  sustained, 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  81 

and  M.  Tronchin  observed,  that  the  furies  of 
Orestes  could  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  those  of 
Voltaire. 

These  are  thy  fruits,  O  infidelity  ;  these  thy 
joys,  thy  consolations,  thy  triumphs  in  death.  "O 
my  soul,  come  not  thou  into  its  secret ;  unto  its 
assembly,  mine  honor,  be  not  thou  united  !  " 

I  have  now  spread  before  you  a  view  of  the 
causes  and  evils  of  instability  of  religious  faith. 
And  can  any  one  fail  to  perceive,  that  unsettled, 
sceptical  principles  are  infinitely  dangerous,  and 
established  principles  of  infinite  importance  ?  If 
you  would  avoid  the  present  anxieties  and  eternal 
horrors  of  infidelity,  cling,  like  the  three  young 
men  in  Babylon,  to  the  great  truths  of  the  Bible. 
Let  your  religious  principles,  like  theirs,  be  so 
firmly  fixed,  that  not  the  terrors  of  martyrdom  can 
move  them. 

The  way  is  now  prepared  to  show 

II.  That  your  religious  principles  should  be 
correct.  This,  if  possible,  is  of  more  importance, 
than  that  they  should  be  fixed.  Principles,  which 
involve  every  degree  of  error,  may  become  very 
firmly  established,  through  their  congeniality  with 
the  feelings  of  a  depraved  heart.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  depravity,  men  are  much  more  likely 
to  embrace  error  than  truth.  Hence,  all  youth 


82  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

are  in  imminent  danger  of  imbibing  those  erro- 
neous principles,  which  will  jeopardize  their  sal- 
vation. This  part  of  our  subject  is  of  ineffable 
importance  to  you  all ;  but  want  of  time  requires 
me  to  compress  my  remarks  upon  it,  into  as  narrow 
a  compass  as  possible. 

It  is  the  great  object  of  religion,  to  save  the 
soul.  Your  religious  principles  should  be  sound 
and  scriptural,  because  error  has  no  tendency  to 
do  this.  Any  principles,  which  have  no  tendency 
to  do  that  for  us,  which  religion  was  designed  to 
do,  are  obviously  unsafe.  Now,  I  fearlessly  main- 
tain, that  the  grosser  errors  which  infest  the  com- 
munity have  no  tendency  to  save,  but  every  ten- 
dency to  destroy.  Those  religious  systems,  which 
reject  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the 
reality  and  literal  eternity  of  future  misery,  and 
the  supreme  Deity  and  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ, 
have  no  tendency  to  effect  regeneration,  for  the 
substantial  reason  that  they  deny  its  necessity.* 

,  *  In  the  text,  no  comparison  is  attempted  of  these  errors 
themselves.  The  author  does  not  undertake  to  decide  whether 
they  are  equally  removed  from  the  truth.  Their  conflicting 
claims  to  pre-eminence,  he  does  not  assume  to  settle.  The 
settlement  of  that  question,  if  it  be  worth  any  pains,  he  leaves 
to  those  who  are  interested  in  its  decision.  All  that  he  is  con- 
cerned to  show  is,  that  they  are  void  of  any  tendency  to  pro- 
duce evangelical  holiness. 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  83 

It  is  believed  that  no  person,  under  the  inculcation 
of  these  principles  only,  was  ever  convinced  of  his 
lost  condition  as  a  sinner,  or  made  to  feel  as  the 
three  thousand  did  on  the  Bay  of  Pentecost,  or  as 
the  Jews  often  did  under  the  preaching  of  Christ, 
or  as  Felix  and  Agrippa  did  under  the  preaching 
of  Paul.  It  is  my  firm  conviction,  that  under  the 
exhibition  of  these  sentiments,  unmixed  with  truth, 
no  person  was  ever  heard  to  cry  out,  "  What  must 
I  do  to  be  saved?"  or  has  been  made  to  love  and 
constantly  to  practice  secret  prayer,  or  ever  gave 
any  other  evidence  of  scriptural  conversion.  I 
appeal  to  the  whole  history  of  the  world,  I  appeal 
to  your  own  experience  and  observation  for  the 
support  of  these  positions.  I  challenge  all  men 
to  cite  one  case,  where  these  systems,  in  their  le- 
gitimate results  as  religious  systems,  have  brought 
a  sinner  to  the  foot  of  the  cross.  Such  a  case, 
it  is  believed,  has  never  been  known.  If  then, 
these  sentiments,  which  are  so  industriously  propa- 
gated, and  which  unsanctified  men  are  very  apt  to 
embrace,  have  no  tendency  to  make  us  feel,  as  the 
preaching  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  made  men 
feel,  I  beseech  you  to  reject  them.  Spurn  them 
from  you  as  you  would  a  viper.  Let  your  reli- 
gious principles  be  as  sound  as  the  Bible.  Em- 
brace the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth,  and  you  shall  be  saved. 


84  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

The  practical  influence  of  the  great  doctrines 
of  the  Bible  on  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men  also 
shows  the  importance  of  those  doctrines.  The 
truths  to  which  I  refer  are  such  as  these ; — the 
total  native  depravity  of  every  human  heart, — the 
indispensable  necessity  of  regeneration, — the  un- 
compromising claims  of  the  divine  law, — the  uni- 
versality and  efficacy  of  the  atonement,  —  the 
entire  dependence  of  every  sinner  on  sovereign 
grace  for  salvation, — his  ability  and  consequent 
obligation  to  repent  without  any  delay, — the  un- 
conditional election  of  a  certain  part  of  mankind 
to  eternal  life, — the  necessity  of  special  divine 
influence  to  renew  the  heart,  arising  from  the 
otherwise  incorrigible  obstinacy  of  the  sinner, — 
and  the  eternal  duration  of  the  blessedness  of  the 
righteous,  and  of  the  punishment  of  the  wicked. 
These,  and  other  kindred  truths  of  the  Scriptures 
exert  an  influence  on  mankind,  which  is  both 
salutary  and  immense.  A  faithful  exhibition  of 
these  doctrines  makes  men  feel  solemn.  Under 
the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  extort  from 
many  a  person  the  momentous  inquiry — "What 
must  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  ? "  They  often 
bring  the  inquiring  sinner  to  a  cordial,  grateful 
acceptance  of  the  terms  of  salvation.  They  make 
him  ever  after  a  man  of  prayer.  If  he  was  before 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  85 

« 

ambitious,  they  humble  him.  If  he  was  covetous, 
they  make  him  benevolent.  If  he  was  licentious, 
they  purify  his  heart  and  life.  In  short,  if  there 
be  any  moral  goodness  on  earth,  it  is  owing  to  the 
instrumentality  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  If 
heaven  is  fast  filling  up  with  souls  redeemed  from 
the  ruins  of  the  apostacy,  that  glorious  work  is 
advancing  solely  under  the  auspices  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  cross,  made  effectual  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  sent  down  from  above. 

The  whole  history  of  the  propagation  of  Chris- 
tianity shows,  that  nothing  permanently  and  sav- 
ingly interests  men  in  the  subject  of  religion,  but 
these  great  truths.  Robert  Dale  Owen,  Frances 
Wright,  Abner  Kneeland,  and  Hosea  Ballou,  may 
interest,  for  a  short  time,  a  collection  of  thought- 
less, pleasure-loving,  theatre-going  youth; — they 
may  occasionally  draw  together  large  assemblages 
of  that  class  of  people,  but  the  great  moving  prin- 
ciples are  three  ; — curiosity,  love  of  error,  and 
hatred  of  the  truth.  But  the  doctrines  of  grace 
exert  a  wide  and  permanent  interest.  Large  com- 
munities are  held  together  by  their  power  from 
year  to  year  and  from  age  to  age,  as  the  principle 
of  gravitation  binds  together  the  immense  masses, 
which  compose  the  solar  system.  It  is  not  curi- 
osity nor  love  of  controversy  which  interests  the 


86  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

evangelical  part  of  the  community  so  deeply  and 
permanently,  but  it  is  love  of  the  truth,  and  a 
profound  reverence  of  its  Author.  It  was  the 
exhibition  of  the  great  doctrines  of  revelation, 
which  spread  Christianity  over  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  known  world  during  the  first  three  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era;  which  wrought  such 
wonders  in  the  time  of  the  Reformation ;  which 
has  filled  New  England  with  school-houses  and 
churches ;  which  has  multiplied  revivals  over  the 
whole  extent  of  our  country;  which  has  given 
birth  to  the  missionary  movements  of  the  age; 
and  is  fast  disenthralling,  regenerating  and  elevat- 
ing to  heaven  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Here, 
then,  you  see  the  importance  of  your  embracing 
and  maintaining  the  truth,  in  its  purity  and  power. 
Error,  however  popular,  cannot  sanctify  and  save. 
Nothing  but  the  doctrines  of  the  cross,  admitted 
to  your  hearts,  in  all  their  humbling,  transforming 
energies,  can  bring  you  into  a  harmonious  and 
delightful  relation  to  God  and  all  holy  beings. 

Two  remarks  will  close  the  discourse. 

1.  The  subject  exposes  the  fallacy  of  the 
maxim,  that  it  is  no  matter  what  a  man  believes, 
provided  he  is  sincere.  It  is  just  as  important  to 
believe  correctly,  as  to  believe  sincerely.  It  is 
just  as  necessary  to  believe  the  truth,  as  it  is  im- 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  87 

portant  to  save  the  soul.  Sincerity  is  neither  the 
test  of  truth,  nor  a  substitute  for  truth.  Men  may 
be  very  sincere  in  believing  error,  even  soul-des- 
troying error.  Saul  of  Tarsus,  before  his  con- 
version, "  verily  thought  that  he  ought  to  do  many 
things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth," 
but  he  soon  found,  notwithstanding  his  sincerity, 
that  he  was  then  on  the  high  road  to  perdition. 
Pagans,  by  their  costly  sacrifices  and  self-inflicted 
tortures,  give  every  proof  of  sincerity,  and  yet, 
according  to  the  Bible,  they  are  sinking  by  gen- 
erations into  hell.  "  No  matter  what  a  man  be- 
lieves, provided  he  is  sincere  !"  A  very  unsound, 
but  a  very  favorite  maxim  with  men  of  latitudi- 
narian  sentiments  ;  a  maxim,  which  goes  to  ob- 
literate all  distinction  between  truth  and  error — 
right  and  wrong  ;  a  maxim,  which  is  peopling  the 
bottomless  pit  with  deluded  souls.  In  this  con- 
nection, I  cannot  forbear  to  remark,  that,  not  all 
Pope's  talent  at  pouring  forth  harmony  of  numbers, 
can  atone  for  the  mischief,  which  a  single  couplet 
of  his  has  occasioned  ; — 

"  For  modes  of  faith,  let  graceless  zealots  fight, 
His  can't  be  wrong,  whose  life  is  in  the  right." 

This  adage  contains  a  very  convenient  equivoque. 
There  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is  correct ;  and  there 


88  ESTABLISHED  AND  CORRECT 

is  another,  which  is  more  generally  embraced,  and 
which  favors  the  utmost  latitudinarianism,  which 
the  depraved  heart  can  desire.  All  experience, 
however,  goes  to  show,  that  a  man's  faith  will 
affect  his  practice ;  and  that  a  cordial  belief  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  Bible  will  issue  in  something  more 
than  merely  a  moral  life.  It  will  result  in  a  life 
of  unfeigned  piety. 

But,  even  on  theoretical  grounds,  correct  faith 
is  ineffably  important.  A  man  who  believes  the 
Bible  will  feel  differently  from  an  infidel.  A  man, 
who  believes  regeneration  to  be  indispensable  to 
salvation,  will  have  more  solicitude  about  it,  than 
one  who  disbelieves  it.  A  man,  who  believes  that 
the  wicked  "  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  pun- 
ishment," will  be  more  likely  to  escape  "  the 
wrath  to  come,"  than  one  who  rejects  this  decla- 
ration of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  beseech  you,  then,  habitually  to  feel  the  high 
importance  of  sound  principles.  They  are  your 
life.  Throw  them  not  away.  Cleave  to  them 
with  all  your  hearts.  They  are  to  you,  what  the 
life-boat  is  to  the  drowning  mariner—the  only 
means  of  salvation. 

2.  There  isfcno  effectual  safeguard  against  the 
destructive  influence  of  unstable  and  erroneous 
sentiments,  but  a  change  of  the  heart.  I  know 


RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES.  89 

that  a  real  Christian  may  be  led  into  a  variety  of 
erroneous  opinions,  but  they  will  be  of  minor  im- 
portance. A  true  friend  of  God  cannot  embrace 
fundamental  error.  His  heart  is  right.  That 
operates,  in  all  seasons  of  temptation,  like  the 
anchor  of  a  ship  in  a  storm.  It  holds  him  safe. 
His  safety,  however,  does  not  consist  in  the 
strength  of  his  piety,  but  in  the  grace  and  power 
of  God.  He  is  kept  by  the  power  of  God, 
through  faith,  unto  salvation.  All  the  energies  of 
Omnipotence  are  pledged  for  his  security,  and  his 
salvation  is  certain. 

And  now,  my  young  friends,  if  you  would  be 
saved  from  the  destructive  errors,  to  which  you 
are  exposed,  become  Christians.  Feel  that  you 
have  no  security,  till  you  have  a  renewed  heart. 
You  may  think  your  present  principles  strong 
enough  to  stand  the  hour  of  trial.  So  did  Hazael. 
When  the  prophet  told  him  of  what  horrible  enor- 
mities he  would  be  guilty,  he  exclaimed,  "  What ! 
is  thy  servant  a  dog,  that  he  should  do  this  great 
thing  ?  "  And  yet,  under  the  power  of  temp- 
tation, his  better  principles  gave  way,  and  he 
committed  the  very  atrocities,  which  the  prophet 
predicted.  "  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth, 
take  heed  lest  he  fall."  You  have  no  security, 
but  in  the  grace  which  God  will  give  his  children. 
7 


90  ESTABLISHED  PRINCIPLES. 

Embrace,  then,  if  you  have  not  already,  that  re- 
ligion, which  made  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed- 
nego  prefer  the  fiery  furnace  to  disobedience  to 
God.  Their  principles  stood  the  trial,  and  it  was 
because  their  principles  were  those  of  the  heart, 
as  well  as  of  the  understanding.  If,  like  them, 
you  would  abide  the  hour  of  temptation,  admit 
the  religion  of  the  gospel  to  immediate  and  entire 
dominion  over  you.  Then,  you  will  be  living 
illustrations  of  the  uncompromising  integrity  of  the 
Christian  character ;  and,  when  you  leave  this, 
for  a  higher  sphere  of  service  in  the  heavens, 
these  lines  will  form  no  inappropriate  inscription 
to  your  memories  ; — 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done  ! 

For  this  was  all  thy  care, 
To  stand  approved  in  sight  of  God, 
Though  world's  judg'd  thee  perverse." 


LECTURE  IV. 

DANGERS  OF  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

1  COB.  xv.  33. — Evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners. 

IT  cannot  have  escaped  the  notice  of  any 
attentive  observer  of  mankind,  that  the  season  of 
childhood  and  early  youth  is  comparatively  unso- 
phisticated with  error  and  immorality.  Not  that 
that  period  of  life  exhibits  no  indications  of  de- 
pravity ;  for  depravity  is,  in  all  cases,  coeval  with 
the  existence  of  moral  character.  Not  that  per- 
sons in  the  earlier  part  of  life  are  but  partially  de- 
praved ;  for  the  degree  of  depravity  in  every  case 
is  total, — that  is,  there  is  an  entire  Absence  of 
holiness  by  nature.  Not  that  there  are  no  in- 
stances of  children  and  youth  committing  some  of 
the  most  atrocious  crimes  ;  for  such  instances 
sometimes  occur.  But  notwithstanding  these  ex- 
ceptions and  qualifications,  the  general  remark  is 
still  true,  that  persons  in  quite  early  life  are  com- 


92  DANGERS  OF 

paratively  free  from  error  in  principle,  and  vicious- 
ness  in  practice.  There  is  generally  an  artlessness 
in  their  manners,  a  simplicity  in  their  practice, 
and  a  freedom  from  gross  error  in  their  faith. 
But  when  the  period  arrives  for  entrance  upon  the 
active  business  of  life,  it  ordinarily  constitutes  an 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  individual.  What 
parent,  who  has  ever  sent  a  son  to  college,  or 
bound  him  to  an  apprenticeship,  or  put  him  into  a 
manufactory,  but  felt,  when  he  was  doing  it,  that 
it  would  probably  be  a  crisis  in  the  destiny  of  that 
child.  Often  has  the  anxious  father,  when  the 
time  of  separation  arrived,  accompanied  his  son  to 
the  door,  and  bade  him  farewell,  saying, 

"  My  child,  the  unwelcome  hour  is  come, 
When  thou,  transplanted  from  thy  genial  home, 
Must  find  a  colder  soil,  and  bleaker  air, 
And  trust  for  safety  to  a  stranger's  care." 

Often  has  the  affectionate  mother,  when  called  to 
commit  her  son  to  the  temptations  of  the  world, 
and  exchanged  with  him  the  last  adieu,  gone  away 
to  her  closet  as  her  only  consolation,  and  com- 
mitted him  to  the  keeping  of  Israel's  God.  When 
the  inexperienced  youth  enters  upon  his  new 
scene  of  life,  and  finds  himself  associated  with 
new  companions,  and  assailed  by  new  temptations, 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  93 

then  comes  the  trial  of  his  principles.  What  a 
moment  in  his  history  !  It  is  a  moment  replete 
with  interest  and  with  danger.  And  what  youth, 
who  has  been  nurtured  at  home  in  the  school  of 
correct  principles,  and  now  brought  to  the  trial, 
while  his  parents  are  trembling  for  the  result,  does 
not  tremble  for  himself.  Perhaps  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  youth  before  me,  who  are  now  undergoing 
this  severe  experiment.  Many  of  you  have  but 
recently  entered  upon  the  active  scenes  of  life. 
Many  of  you  are  far  away  from  the  safeguards  of 
home,  while  the  palpitating  hearts  of  your  parents, 
if  they  are  not  cold  in  death,  and  their  midnight 
prayers  for  your  safety,  give  evidence  of  ceaseless 
anxiety  for  your  welfare.  You  are  now  placed  in 
circumstances  of  trial,  and  the  event  alone  can 
determine,  whether  "  evil  communications "  will 
"  corrupt "  your  "  good  manners." 
My  object,  in  this  lecture,  is  to  state, 

I.  The  principal  evils  to  which  youth,  in  your 
circumstances,  are  exposed, 

II.  The  means  and  process  by  which  many 
youth,  similarly  situated,  have  been  ruined,  and 

III.  What  can  be  done   to  rescue  the  young 
from  the  dangers  which  surround  them. 

I.  What  are  the  more  prominent  evils  to  which 
youth  are  exposed  ?     Among  these,  intemperance 


94  DANGERS  OF 

holds  no  inferior  place.  Perhaps  in  no  village  in 
this  region,  has  the  temperance  reformation  found 
greater  favor  than  in  this.  But  the  means  of  in- 
toxication and  ruin  are  still  here.  They  are  sold, 
and  their  sale  is  licensed  by  law  ;  while  the  vend- 
ing of  lottery  tickets,  an  evil  by  no  means  as  great 
as  the  other,  is  prohibited.  I  cannot  forbear,  in 
passing,  to  express  the  hope,  that  this  traffic, 
.  instead  of  being  encouraged  by  legislation,  will 
soon  be  banished  from  the  country  by  being  made 
penal. 

There  may  be  youth  in  this  village,  who  are 
now  gradually  and  insensibly  forming  habits  of  in- 
temperance ; — habits,  which  may  yet  consume  their 
property,  blast  their  reputation,  hurry  them  to  a 
premature  death,  and  bring  down  the  gray  hairs  of 
their  parents  with  sorrow  to  the  grave.  The 
hearts  of  parents  are  exquisitely  sensitive  with 
respect  to  the  exposure  of  their  children  to  this 
vice.  I  will  illustrate  this  fact  by  an  example. 
Some  years  ago,  there  was  a  bright  and  promising 
youth,  who  was  "  the  only  son  of  his  mother,  and 
she  was  a  widow."  Falling  under  the  influence 
of  bad  company,  he  soon  lost  his  love  of  home, 
and  all  sense  of  obligation  to  his  aged  dependent 
mother — wandered  away  to  a  distant  part  of  the 
country,  and  spent  his  substance  in  riotous  living. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  95 

Many  an  anxious  month  and  year  rolled  slowly 
away,  while  she  could  hear  nothing  from  her  son, 
except  that  he  was  notoriously  abandoned.  In 
process  of  time,  as  she  was  shivering  one  cold 
December's  evening  over  a  few  embers,  which  con- 
stituted all  her  fire,  her  heart  bursting  within  her 
as  she  thought  of  her  prospects  and  of  her  profli- 
gate son,  she  was  aroused  by  a  rap  at  the  door. 
Permission  being  given,  a  stranger  entered.  After 
the  customary  salutations  were  exchanged,  and  the 
stranger  seated,  he  kindly  inquired,  "  Is  your 
name  Mary  Judson  ? "  for  that  is  the  designation, 
by  which  I  would  introduce  her  to  your  acquaint- 
ance. "Yes,  sir,"  was  her  reply.  "And  have  you 
a  son  by  the  name  of  Joseph  Judson  ? "  continued 
the  stranger.  If  a  flash  of  lightning  had  that 
instant  struck  her  dwelling,  it  would  not  have 
agitated  her  frame  more  than  the  simple  mention 
of  that  dear  name.  "  I  have,  sir,  if  he  is  alive," 
she  instantly  rejoined,  "  and  do  you  know  him  ?  " 
"  Yes,  madam,  I  saw  him  about  six  weeks  since, 
far  beyond  the  Alleghanies."  "  But  how  does  he 
do  ?  "  inquired  the  trembling  mother,  endeavoring 
to  draw  from  the  stranger  information,  not  so  much 
respecting  his  health,  as  his  conduct.  "  Bad 
enough,"  "  bad  enough,"  was  the  heart-breaking 
reply.  "  But  I  wish  to  know  one  thing  in  partic- 


96  DANGERS  OF 

ular,  Is  he  intemperate  ?  "  "  No,  madam,  I  am 
happy  to  say,  that  although  he  is  guilty  of  almost 
every  other  sin,  which  disgraces  humanity,  he  does 
not  use  ardent  spirits."  "  Then,"  exclaimed  the 
mother  with  tears  of  joy,  "  there  is  hope  of  him  ; 
Joseph,  my  son,  my  only  son,  is  yet  alive,  and  if  he 
is  not  intemperate,  I  may  see  him  before  I  die." 
Time  rolled  on ;  and  finally,  this  abandoned  youth, 
through  the  influence  of  his  mother's  prayers,  and 
his  abstinence  from  intoxicating  drinks,  became 
entirely  reformed — returned  to  his  broken-hearted 
mother — comforted  her  in  her  advanced  age — 
closed  her  dying  eyes — committed  her  to  the 
grave,  and  shed  many  a  tear  over  the  memory  of 
her,  who  had  so  often  prayed  and  wept  for  him. 
Many  a  parent,  my  young  friends,  feels,  as  did 
this  mother,  respecting  the  sin  of  intemperance. 
If  their  sons  are  not  addicted  to  that  vice,  they 
feel  that  there  is  yet  hope  ;  but  if  they  are,  gen- 
erally all  hope  is  extinguished. 

Profaneness  is  another  sin  to  which  youth  are 
exposed.  This  is  a  sin,  which  can  plead  no  temp- 
tation or  excuse.  No  craving  appetite,  no  irresis- 
tible propensity,  no  hope  of  gain,  compels  a  man 
to  swear.  Neither  is  it  any  sign  of  politeness  or 
veracity,  but  it  is  rather  an  infallible  indication  of 
vulgarity  and  disregard  of  truth.  No  man  respects 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  97 

the  profane  swearer,  or  receives  his  most  solemn 
asseverations,  backed  by  oaths,  but  with  many 
grains  of  allowance.  Lord  Chesterfield,  a  master 
in  the  school  of  politeness,  declares,  that  such  lan- 
guage k  never  that  of  a  gentleman. 

"  To  swear,  is  neither  brave,  polite,  nor  wise." 

Jesus  Christ,  who  has  pronounced  an  irreversible 
sentence  of  exclusion  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
against  the  man  of  incorrigible  profaneness,  also 
says,  "  Swear  not  at  all ;  but  let  your  communi- 
cation be  yea,  yea;  nay,  nay  :  for  whatsoever  is 
more  than  these,  cometh  of  evil."  I  am  happy 
in  being  able  to  say,  that  profaneness,  like  intem- 
perance, is  fast  receiving  the  disapprobation  of  all 
respectable  men,  that  it  is  much  less  practiced 
than  formerly,  and  that,  under  the  condemnation 
of  public  opinion,  there  is  hope  that  it  will  soon 
entirely  cease.  Young  men,  frown  upon  this  vice 
wherever  you  meet  it,  and  it  will  shortly  be  ban- 
ished from  society. 

Licentiousness  is  another  vice,  which  often  be- 
sets youth.  This  is  a  subject  of  great  delicacy, 
and  is  too  rarely  made  a  topic  of  discussion  in  the 
pulpit.  Public  attention,  however,  has  recently 
been  directed  anew  to  the  subject,  and  the  evil 
has  been  found  to  exist,  in  an  alarming  degree,  not 


98  DANGERS  OF 

only  in  our  large  cities,  but  also  in  the  villages  and 
towns  of  the  country.  Let  every  youth,  who  has 
any  regard  to  his  reputation,  his  peace,  his  hap- 
piness, his  usefulness,  or  his  eternal  salvation, 
beware  of  this  vice.  "  Flee  youthful  lusts." 
Chastise  the  rovings  of  an  impure  imagination. 
When  temptation  is  presented,  your  courage  will 
be  best  illustrated,  and  your  safety  best  consulted, 
not  by  parleying,  but  by  flight.  Escape  in- 
stantly from  this  enchanted,  this  forbidden  ground. 
"  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it,  turn  from  it,  and  pass 
away." 

Vain  amusements,  such  as  balls  and  theatrical 
exhibitions,  are  also  attended  with  danger.  I 
know  that  youth  and  others  must  have  their  seasons 
of  relaxation  and  amusement ;  a  proper  regard  to 
health  requires  them.  But  they  should  be  of  such 
physical  character  as  to  improve,  not  impair  health ; 
and  of  such  moral  bearing  as  to  purify,  not  pollute 
the  affections. 

Young  people  are  also  more  or  less  exposed  to 
the  contaminating  influence  of  erroneous  religious 
principles.  Some  of  these  principles  were  men- 
tioned in  the  last  lecture.  If  you  were  educated 
religiously  at  home,  your  parents  and  friends  feel 
no  little  solicitude  on  this  point,  especially  if  they 
have  reason  to  believe,  that  your  religious  prin- 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  99 

ciples  are  not  firmly  established.  The  heart  of 
many  a  parent  has  been  rent  asunder,  by  hearing 
that  an  absent  child  had  embraced  some  of  the 
soul-destroying  errors,  which  infest  the  community. 
Respect,  then,  whatever  of  sound  instruction  your 
parents  have  given  you.  Wisdom  addresses  you 
in  these  terms  ; — "  My  son,  hear  the  instruction 
of  thy  father,  and  forsake  not  the  law  of  thy 
mother  ;  for  they  shall  be  an  ornament  of  grace 
unto  thy  head,  and  chains  about  thy  neck." 

Violating  the  Sabbath  is  another  sin  of  which 
youth  are  in  danger.  This  may  be  done  by  un- 
necessary labor,  travelling,  walking  the  streets 
and  fields,  amusements,  and  by  the  indulgence  of 
worldly  thoughts  and  affections.  A  strict  and 
conscientious  observance  of  the  Sabbath  is  indis- 
pensable to  your  highest  respectability,  usefulness 
and  happiness.  Revere  the  Sabbath,  and  love 
the  sanctuary.  Let  no  temptations,  however 
strong,  induce  you  to  infringe,  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree, upon  the  hours  of  holy  rest.  Your  pious 
parents  and  friends  will  indeed  have  occasion  to 
rejoice  over  your  prospects  for  life  and  for  eternity, 
if  you  invariably  "  remember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy." 

Such  are  the  dangers  to  which  you  are  more 
particularly  exposed  ;  let  us  now  examine 


100  DANGERS  OF 

II.  The  means  and  process  by  which  many 
youth  have  become  erroneous  in  principle,  and 
bankrupt  in  morals.  The  principal  means  are 
pointed  out  in  the  text.  "  Evil  communications 
corrupt  good  manners."  Many  youth  are  ruined 
through  the  example  and  influence  of  bad  asso- 
ciates. Let  us  suppose  the  case  of  an  artless, 
unsuspecting  youth,  who  has  just  come  from  his 
home  among  the  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont,  to 
enter  a  manufactory,  or  to  engage  in  some  other 
employment  in  a  thickly  populated  village.  The 
means  and  process  of  his  ruin,  I  will  attempt  briefly 
to  sketch  ;  and  the  picture  has  had  its  prototype 
in  thousands  of  instances  in  our  land.  It  is  a 
scene,  which,  I  hope,  has  never  been,  and  never 
may  be  enacted  here.  On  arriving  at  his  new 
place  of  abode,  this  youth  finds  himself  in  circum- 
stances, to<  which  he  is  entirely  unaccustomed. 
The  scenery  around  him  is  quite  unlike  that  of  his 
native  hills.  His  boarding-house,  with  its  para- 
phernalia, is  a  novelty.  His  employment  is  new — 
his  associates  are  strangers.  The  tout-ensemble — 
the  whole  character  of  his  new  residence  is  such 
as  makes  a  deep  impression  upon  his  feelings. 
Every  thing  is  novel  and  exciting.  He  is  now  in 
that  impressible  state,  which  prepares  him  to  be 
acted  upon,  with  prodigious  effect,  by  influences, 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  101 

which  never  reached  him  in  the  retirement  of  his 
father's  house.  Many  of  his  associates,  as  is  too 
often  the  case,  are  perhaps  men  of  lax  religious 
principles,  and  are  living  in  the  habitual  trans- 
gression of  the  rules  of  sound  morality.  They 
mark  the  unsuspecting  youth  for  their  victim. 
They  take  pains  to  become  acquainted  with  him. 
They  perceive  his  simplicity,  and  his  ignorance  of 
the  world.  Sometimes  the  mode  of  attack  is  bold 
and  direct.  More  generally,  it  is  covert  and  cir- 
cuitous. If  the  latter  mode  be  adopted,  they 
proceed  gradually  and  cautiously  to  sound  his 
principles.  They  find  the  point,  where  he  can  be 
most  successfully  assailed.  With  no  apparent 
intention  of  affecting  him,  and  as  it  were  almost 
accidentally,  they  utter  in  his  hearing,  with  half 
suppressed  voice,  a  profane  oath.  Or,  they  set 
before  him  an  example  of  violating  the  Sabbath, 
or  of  drinking  ardent  spirits,  or  of  using  the  lan- 
guage of  obscenity  ;  or  they  throw  out  oblique 
insinuations  against  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  truth  of  its  distinguishing  doc- 
trines. When  the  youth  first  hears  or  sees  such 
violations  of  all  he  has  been  accustomed  to  deem 
sacred,  his  better  feelings  are  shocked.  Soon, 
however,  the  same  process  is  repeated,  and,  if 
possible,  with  greater  adroitness,  and  probably 


102  DANGERS  OF 

with  greater  success.  They  perhaps  gently  in- 
sinuate, that,  although  such  things  may  not  be 
considered  exactly  right  by  the  unenlightened, 
straight-laced  puritans  of  his  native  town,  they  are 
freely  practiced  and  approved  by  all  the  liberal, 
independent  and  high-minded  young  men  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  They  do  not  fail  to  appeal 
to  that  most  sensitive  of  all  feelings  in  young  men 
as  they  are  entering  upon  life,  namely,  a  regard 
for  his  reputation  among  his  fellows.  They  inti- 
mate to  him,  that  if  he  would  be  respected  by  his 
companions,  and  be  regarded  as  a  young  gentleman 
of  liberality  and  independence  of  mind,  he  must 
give  up  the  contracted  notions  instilled  into  him 
in  his  childhood,  and  enter  fully  into  their  more 
enlarged  views,  and  liberal  practices.  Unfavor- 
ably impressed,  as  he  probably  is,  by  such  in- 
fringements of  sound  principles  and  morals,  the 
leaven  of  mischief  has  nevertheless  begun  to  work 
in  his  susceptible  and  depraved  heart.  A  breach 
having  been  made  in  the  barriers  thrown  around 
him  by  his  education, — the  Rubicon  having  been 
passed,  the  process  of  declension  advances.  His 
wily  companions,  perceiving  his  better  principles 
beginning  to  give  way,  are  careful  to  follow  up 
their  advantage.  Erroneous  principles  are  more 
frequently  started  in  his  hearing.  Immoralities,  of 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  103 

the  less  repulsive  kind,  are  oftener  practiced  in 
his  presence.  Intimations  are  incidentally  made, 
that  to  do  such  things  are  indications  of  an  un- 
fettered, manly  spirit.  No  arts  are  left  untried  to 
infuse  into  his  moral  constitution  the  virus  of  he- 
retical principles,  and  to  lead  him  gradually  into 
habits  of  vice.  The  walls  of  defence,  which  early 
education  had  reared  around  his  morals,  having 
been  scaled,  and  the  work  of  dilapidation  com- 
menced, his  professed  friends,  but  real  enemies, 
determine  to  proceed  in  their  unholy  conquest,  till 
not  one  stone  shall  be  left  upon  another. 

The  unwary  youth,  with  an  evil  heart — with  his 
principles  unfortified  by  regeneration  and  the  grace 
of  God,  in  the  midst  of  associates  whom  he  re- 
spects for  their  superior  age  and  greater  knowledge 
of  business  and  of  the  world,  with  such  skillful 
appeals  to  his  pride  of  reputation,  and  with  such 
examples  before  him  of  evil  doing  by  persons, 
claiming  the  highest  degree  of  information  and 
respectability — gradually,  and  with  many  an  in- 
ward pang,  and  with  many  a  thought  of  his  pa- 
rents, yields  himself  to  the  power  of  the  destroyer. 

"  Vice  is  a  monster  of  such  frightful  mien, 
That  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen ; 
But  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 


104  DANGERS  OF 

In  this  conflict  between  his  better  principles,  and 
the  powers  that  would  work  his  ruin,  the  forces 
are  entirely  unequal.  There  is  a  fearful  odds 
against  him. 

Now,  it  is  scarcely  in  human  nature  successfully 
to  withstand  such  well-conducted  attacks.  One 
principle  after  another  gives  way.  One  error  after 
another  is  embraced.  One  vice  after  another  is 
practiced.  Conscience,  at  the  outset,  rung  indeed 
fearful  notes  of  alarm  through  the  chambers  of  his 
soul,  but  her  voice  has  been  gradually  silenced. 
The  pleasures  of  sinful  indulgence  are  found  to  be 
sweet.  The  power  of  temptation  waxes  stronger 
and  stronger,  while  that  of  resistance  grows  weaker 
and  weaker.  His  progress  down  the  current  of 
destruction  was  at  first  slow  and  gradual.  But  it 
has  become  more  and  more  rapid.  The  stream 
grows  broader  and  deeper.  He  is  swept  along 
with  increasing  and  terrible  velocity  towards  that 
awful  cataract,  of  whose  horrors,  Niagara  affords 
no  conception. 

He  now  begins  to  lose  his  love  of  his  parents, 
and  his  respect  for  their  feelings  and  instructions. 
Their  prayers  for  his  safety  among  strangers,  he 
gives  to  the  idle  wind.  He  writes  home  less  fre- 
quently, and  with  more  reserve.  He  informs 
them,  indeed,  that  he  is  pleased  with  his  situation. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  105 

He  passes  encomiums  upon  his  companions.  He 
describes  his  prospects  as  unexpectedly  promising. 
His  health  never  was  better.  He  exhorts  his 
parents  to  feel  no  anxieties  respecting  him.  But 
all  this  while,  he  carefully  conceals  from  them  the 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  his  principles, 
and  the  immoralities  of  which  he  is  guilty.  To 
tell  them  the  whole  truth  on  this  subject,  he  knows 
would  give  them  a  shock,  little  less  than  apoplectic. 
He  has  filial  regard  enough  left  to  save  them  from 
the  nameless  pangs,  which  a  knowledge  of  his 
principles  and  life  would  create.  He  therefore  in 
his  letters  preserves  a  studied  silence  on  the  very 
topics,  respecting  which,  a  good,  an  anxious  parent 
most  of  all  desires  information.  The  pleasantness 
of  his  place  of  residence — the  interest  he  feels  in 
his  employment — the  agreeableness  of  his  com- 
panions— the  alleged  brightness  of  his  prospects, 
and  even  the  perfection  of  his  health,  are  matters 
of  small  moment  with  them,  if  his  silence  respect- 
ing his  moral  habits  has  excited  the  suspicion  that 
all  is  not  right  there.  If  their  suspicions  are 
awakened,  and  they  see  them  awakened,  too,  by 
the  very  means  he  had  used  to  prevent  it,  they 
are  alarmed,  as  if  a  bolt  from  heaven  fell  smoul- 
dering at  their  feet. 

Fearing  the  worst,  and  anxious  to  know  the 
8 


106  DANGERS   OF 

truth,  they  now  ply  him  with  interrogatories  con- 
cerning his  religious  opinions,  his  observance  of 
the  Sabbath,  his  habits  of  temperance,  of  chastity, 
of  attendance  on  the  duties  of  the  sanctuary,  and 
especially  respecting  the  moral  character  and  prin- 
ciples of  his  associates.  But  on  these  topics,  he 
does  not  wish  to  say  a  word.  If  he  replies  at  all 
to  their  inquiries,  he  does  it  in  such  general  terms, 
and  with  such  ambiguous  phraseology,  as  only 
serve  to  confirm  suspicion,  undermine  their  confi- 
dence in  his  integrity,  and  crush  their  hearts 
between  the  upper  and  nether  millstone.  More 
dissatisfied  and  solicitous  than  ever,  they  press 
their  inquiries  with  greater  definiteness  and  par- 
ticularity, so  as  to  prevent,  if  possible,  all  evasion. 
Perhaps  he  has  now  become  so  hardened,  as  to 
take  no  notice  at  all  of  their  communications, 
though  they  were  wet  with  the  tears  of  a  parent's 
love.  But  if  he  replies,  it  is  in  such  a  style  of 
supercilious  contempt  for  their  alleged  imperti- 
nence in  prying  into  his  affairs,  and  with  such  bold 
insinuations  of  their  comparative  ignorance  and 
illiberality,  of  his  ability  to  manage  his  own  con- 
cerns, and  of  his  desire  to  receive  no  further 
molestation,  that  they  become  heart-broken,  and 
soon  find  a  refuge  from  affliction  in  the  grave. 
And  now,  the  restraints  of  parental  influence 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  107 

being  trampled  under  foot,  every  barrier  erected 
by  education  and  conscience  being  swept  away, 
sinful  appetites  having  obtained  giant  strength  and 
undisputed  empire,  the  catastrophe  hurries  on 
apace.  His  profligacy  has,  by  this  time,  thrown 
him  out  of  employment  and  of  virtuous  society ; 
his  former  companions,  if  they  have  not  already 
reached  the  end  of  their  career  to  destruction, 
now  abandon  him ;  the  gloom  of  his  prospects 
thickens  into  night ;  disease  hastens  him  towards 
the  grave  ;  conscience,  as  if  by  way  of  reprisal, 
agitates  him  with  the  very  terrors  of  perdition ; 
the  thunders  of  divine  wrath  make  all  his  bones  to 
shake  ;  the  lightnings  of  incensed  goodness  rive 
his  departing  soul ;  and  he  sinks — and  sinks — and 
sinks — into  a  bottomless  hell. 

Such  is  substantially  the  history  of  many  youth ; 
such  the  means  and  process  of  their  ruin.  Un- 
principled and  immoral  associates  have  destroyed 
multitudes.  "  Evil  communications  corrupt  good 
manners." 

You,  my  young  friends,  may  now  be  passing 
through  this  same  probation,  and  exposed  to  these 
very  temptations  and  dangers.  It  will  therefore 
be  an  office  of  kindness  to  point  out 

III.  What  can  be  done  to  rescue  the  young 
from  their  perilous  situation. 


108  DANGERS   OF 

1.  Realize  your  erposure  to  temptation.     Many 
have  been  ruined  through  a  mere  unwillingness  to 
admit  the  possibility  that   they  could  be  ruined. 
An  overweening  confidence  in  their  security  has 
proved  their  destruction.     It  is  one  of  the  infirmi- 
ties  of  human   nature,  and  especially  of  inexpe- 
rienced youth,  to  consider  ourselves  proof  against 
all   temptation.     "  A  prudent  man  foreseeth  the 
evil  and  hideth  himself,  but  the   simple   pass   on, 
and  are  punished."     Think  not  that  your  princi- 
ples are  impregnable.     "  He  that  trusteth  in  his 
own   heart   is    a   fool."      Hazael    knew   not   the 
strength   of  his    early    principles,   till    they   were 
brought  to  the  trial.      That  proved  that  they  were 
frail   as   gossamer.     Peter  had   the  utmost  confi- 
dence in  his   own   integrity,  but   the  remark  of  a 
servant  made  him   deny  his   Master.     "  Let  him 
that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 
If  you   keenly    feel    your   constant    exposure    to 
temptation,  it  will  put  you  upon  your  guard.    You 
will  more  eagerly  avail  yourselves  of  other  means 
of  preservation. 

2.  Never  cease  to  respect  and  follow  the  good 
instructions  of  your  parents.     I  say  good  instruc- 
tions, for  it  is  the  unhappiness  of  many  youth  to 
be  contaminated  with  those  which  are  bad.    Erro- 
neous instruction  is  often  worse  than  none.     But 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  109 

if  you  were  correctly  and  religiously  educated, 
never  become  so  wise  in  your  own  conceit  as  to 
place  a  light  value  on  such  an  education.  Never 
feel  that  you  have  become  so  enlightened,  as  to 
make  it  safe  or  proper  to  despise  the  counsels  of 
Christian  parents.  If  a  man  possessed  the  wisdom 
of  Solomon,  it  would  not  exempt  him  from  obli- 
gation to  obey  the  instructions  of  a  pious  mother. 
The  holy  precepts  which  such  a  mother  instilled 
into  your  minds  in  infancy  and  childhood,  and  her 
many  prayers  and  tears  on  your  behalf,  you  ought 
to  prize  above  thousands  of  gold  and  silver.  Per- 
haps, as  you  left  home,  she  put  a  Bible  into  your 
trunk;  let  that  Bible  be  valued  above  the  gold 
of  Ophir.  Perhaps,  as  you  parted,  she  dropped 
some  counsels  upon  your  ear,  as  weighty  as  if 
they  were  her  dying  words  ;  let  those  counsels  be 
engraven  on  your  heart  forever.  You  can  hardly 
fail  of  being  preserved  from  immoral  courses,  if 
you  faithfully  practice  the  instructions  of  those 
who  gave  you  being,  and  whose  earthly  all  is 
bound  up  in  your  respectability  and  happiness. 

3.  Be  especially  careful  in  your  choice  of  asso 
dates.     Too  much  importance  cannot  be  attached 
to  this  direction.     It  is  fundamental.    The  influence 
which  young  people  exert  over  each  other,  is  abso- 
lutely immeasurable.    In  your  intercourse  with  each 


110  DANGERS  OF 

other,  you  will  find  almost  every  shade  of  religious 
belief,  and  nearly  every  variety  of  practice.  Your 
opinions  and  life  will  be  insensibly  formed  after 
the  models  with  which  you  are  most  familiar. 
You  cannot  be  intimate  with  any  one,  without 
imperceptibly  imbibing  his  views.  Beyond  all 
doubt,  more  depends,  as  it  respects  the  formation 
of  character,  on  the  character  of  associates,  than 
on  any  other  circumstance,  and  perhaps  more  than 
on  all  other  circumstances  united.  "  He  that 
walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise  :  but  a  com- 
panion of  fools  shall  be  destroyed."  Language, 
my  young  friends,  wants  power  to  express  the 
importance  of  your  selecting  for  your  intimate 
friends,  those  who  are  well-principled,  wise  and 
virtuous.  If  then  you  know  a  youth  of  unsound 
religious  principles,  or  of  questionable  morals,  treat 
him  indeed  with  perfect  propriety,  but  shun  rather 
than  solicit  his  acquaintance.  His  personal  ap- 
pearance and  bearing  may  be  unusually  prepossess- 
ing. His  treatment  of  you  may  be  singularly 
courteous.  His  knowledge  of  business  and  of 
mankind  may  be  superior  to  your  own.  But  mark 
him.  Count  him  not  an  enemy,  much  less  a 
friend.  He  may  make  an  offer  of  confidential 
friendship,  but  firmly  and  respectfully  decline  it. 
Give  him  to  understand,  if  necessary,  that  your 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  Ill 

principles  and  his  are  too  dissimilar  ever  to  admit 
of  intimacy.  He  may  use  various  arts  arid  strata- 
gems to  dislodge  you  from  your  position,  but  stand 
the  more  firm  and  erect  on  your  principles.  Let 
whatever  he  does  to  gain  you  be  met  by  a  digni- 
fied inflexibility.  O,  could  the  history  of  the 
ruined  youth  of  our  land  be  rehearsed  in  your 
hearing,  it  would  make  every  ear  tingle.  Quite 
likely  nine  tenths  of  the  cases  would  be  found  to 
be  the  result  of  the  influence  of  bad  associates. 
How  does  the  moral  youth  become  a  Sabbath- 
breaker,  or  a  profane  swearer,  or  a  liar,  or  a  lewd 
person,  or  a  drunkard,  or  an  infidel  ?  By  means 
of  the  example  and  influence  of  companions,  who 
are  addicted  to  those  vices,  or  hold  those  princi- 
ples. "  Evil  communications  corrupt  good  man- 
ners." Take  care,  then,  whom  you  choose  for 
your  associates.  Your  respectability,  peace,  use- 
fulness, salvation ;  the  happiness  of  your  friends, 
the  well-being  of  society,  all,  all  are  involved  in 
the  choice  you  make. 

4.  Christians  should  take  special  pains  to  be- 
come early  acquainted  with  those  youthful  stran- 
gers, who  come  here  to  reside,  and  endeavor  to 
give  them  a  right  direction.  The  first  acquain- 
tances which  strangers  make  are  generally  the 
most  durable  and  influential.  They  never  forget 


112  DANGERS  OF 

those  who  first  take  them  by  the  hand,  and  mani- 
fest a  deep  interest  in  their  welfare.  One  kind, 
encouraging  word  has  often  won  the  affections  of 
a  stranger's  heart,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  an 
intimacy,  which  could  never  be  dissolved.  Now, 
who  shall  secure  all  the  advantages  of  this  early 
acquaintanceship  with  strangers?  the  Christian,  or 
the  infidel?  the  moral,  or  the  immoral  man?  It 
has  been  often  remarked,  that  unprincipled  men 
take  more  pains,  than  Christians  do,  to  form  these 
early  acquaintances  with  strangers,  and  interest 
them,  and  secure  their  confidence.  However  that 
may  be,  good  men  are  doubtless  very  delinquent 
in  this  duty.  While  they  are  purposing  to  obtain 
an  introduction  to  a  stranger  for  the  sake  of  doing 
him  good,  another  has  actually  done  it  with  a 
very  different  motive,  and  has  probably  secured 
his  object.  The  favorable  moment  for  making 
the  first  impression  is  now  irrecoverably  gone  ; 
and  those  who  purposed  well,  but  did  not  imme- 
diately act,  are  often  compelled  to  stand  by,  and 
behold  the  progress  of  the  youth  in  his  precipitous 
career  to  destruction,  without  being  able  to  arrest 
it.  Let  those,  then,  who  wish  well  to  the  rising 
generation,  thoroughly  understand  the  principle  in 
human  nature, — that  first  impressions  are  gener~ 
ally  the  deepest  and  most  durable.  Let  them 


YOUNG  PEOPLE.  113 

endeavor,  in  all  cases,  to  make  those  impressions 
themselves ;  and  by  so  doing,  they  will  rescue 
multitudes  of  youth  from  the  power  of  the  de- 
stroyer— from  temporal  and  eternal  ruin. 

5.  The  last  thing,  which  I  would  recommend 
to  the  youth  as  a  defence  against  temptation,  is  to 
choose  God  for  your  Father  and  Protector,  Are 
you  far  removed  from  friends  and  relatives?  "The 
Lord  is  nigh  unto  all  them  that  call  upon  him,  to 
all  that  call  upon  him  in  truth."  Are  you  orphans, 
with  no  parents  to  counsel  and  protect  you  ?  Say 
with  Christian  confidence,  "  When  my  father  and 
my  mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take 
me  up."  Do  you  feel  your  inexperience  and 
danger?  Lift  up  your  eyes  to  Jehovah,  and  ac- 
knowledge, "My  Father,  thou  art  the  guide  of 
my  youth."  Give  your  hearts  and  your  lives  to 
him,  and  you  will  be  safe.  If  you  stand  on  the 
rock  of  his  defence,  the  highest  mountain  billow 
of  temptation  shall  break  harmlessly  beneath  your 
feet.  He  loves  his  children  with  an  everlasting 
love,  and  not  a  hair  of  their  head  shall  perish. 
If,  in  times  past,  he  has  divided  the  sea  to  give 
them  a  passage  from  their  enemies ; — if  he  has 
rained  manna  from  heaven,  and  brought  water 
out  of  the  flinty  rock  to  supply  their  wants  ; — 
if  he  has  stopped  the  sun  to  aid  their  victories, 


114  DANGERS  OF  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

and  reproved  kings  for  their  sakes,  saying,  "  Touch 
not  mine  anointed,  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm;" 
— if  he  has  done  all  these  things  for  them,  what 
have  you  to  fear,  if  you  flee  to  the  sanctuary  of 
his  power?  Accept,  then,  accept  to-day  the  prof- 
fered protection  of  Almighty  God.  Do  this,  and 
though  you  live  in  a  corrupted  and  corrupting 
world;  though  temptations  beset  you,  and  ten 
thousand  ills  betide  you ;  though  the  heavens 
gather  blackness,  and  the  rains  descend,  and  the 
floods  come,  and  all  your  prospects  are  veiled  in 
darkness,  and  all  your  hopes  seem  lost  in  the 
commingling  fury  of  the  storm  ; — your  Father 
will  look  out  of  his  holy  habitation  upon  the 
raging  elements,  and  say,  "  Peace,  be  still,  my 
children  are  there ! "  And  suddenly  there  will  be 
a  great  calm — and  the  sun  will  shine  out  again — 
and  it  will  be  to  you  a  prelude  of  CLOUDLESS 

EVERLASTING  DAY. 


LECTURE  V. 

ORIGIN,     OBLIGATION,     AND     PROPER     OB- 
SERVANCE   OF    THE    SABBATH. 

EXODUS  xx.  8 — 11. — Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.  Six 
days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work;  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord  thy  God  ;  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy 
son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy  cattle, 
nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates :  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made 
heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh 
day ;  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it. 

THE  importance  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  to 
the  present  and  future  well-being  of  man,  is  very 
generally,  if  not  universally,  admitted.  By  its 
weekly  recurrence,  it  offers  him  timely  and  needful 
rest  from  labor,  perplexity  and  care.  It  promotes 
cleanliness,  and  health,  and  intellectual  improve- 
ment. It  divides  time  into  portions  the  most  con- 
venient for  the  transaction  of  worldly  business, 
and  thus  regulates  the  various  intercourse  of  com- 
munities. It  recruits  the  exhausted  strength  of 
working  animals,  and  thus  makes  them  more  ser- 


116  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

viceable  to  man.  Indeed,  it  contributes  in  a 
thousand  nameless  ways,  to  the  temporal  comfort 
and  happiness  of  the  human  kind. 

But  these  are  the  minor  benefits  of  the  Sabbath. 
It  also  recognizes  man  as  an  heir  to  immortality — 
as  a  being  on  probation  for  eternal  blessedness  or 
wo.  As  such,  it  offers  him  a  season  for  retire- 
ment, for  self-inspection,  for  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures and  other  pious  books,  for  repentance, 
and  for  private,  family  and  public  worship. 
He  is  allotted,  by  special  statute,  one  seventh 
part  of  all  his  time,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
preparation  for  his  eternal  state.  Thus,  the 
Sabbath  is  the  great  means  of  preparing  men 
for  future  glory.  In  short,  were  it  not  for  the 
Sabbath,  religion  would  soon  disappear  from  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  all  communication  with 
heaven  cease. 

The  transmission  of  the  Sabbath,  in  its  purity, 
from  generation  to  generation,  is,  therefore,  an 
object  of  pre-eminent  importance.  In  securing 
this  most  important  object,  much,  very  much  de- 
pends upon  the  youth,  and  especially  upon  young 
men.  In  a  still  more  emphatic  sense,  does  much 
depend  on  the  example  of  young  people  in  manu- 
facturing, and  other  densely  populated  villages, 
because  such  villages  are  centres  of  business,  en- 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  117 

terprise  and  influence.  Their  example  will  either 
exalt  the  Sabbath  in  the  respect  and  affections  of 
the  communities  around  them,  or  will  roll  the  tide 
of  recreation  and  business  over  that  consecrated 
day. 

The  remarks,  on  this  subject,  which  I  shall  sub- 
mit to  your  consideration,  will  be  arranged  under 
the  following  heads  : — 

I.  The  origin, 

II.  The    perpetual   obligation    of    the    Sab- 
bath ;     And 

III.  The  manner  in  which  it  should  be   ob- 
served. 

I.  The  origin  of  the  Sabbath.  The  Sabbath 
was  instituted  by  Jehovah  immediately  after  the 
creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  was 
designed  to  commemorate  his  cessation  or  resting 
from  that  work.  This  fact  we  find  in  the  second 
chapter  of  Genesis,  and  is  described  in  these 
terms ;  '<  On  the  seventh  day  God  ended  his 
work  which  he  had  made  ;  and  he  rested  on  the 
seventh  day  from  all  his  work,  which  he  had 
made.  And  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and 
sanctified  it ;  because  that  in  it  he  had  rested  from 
all  his  work,  which  God  created  and  made." 
Here,  then,  is  the  scriptural  account  of  the  time 
when  the  Sabbath  was  instituted.  But  there  are 


118  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

in  the  Bible  a  number  of  incidental  allusions  and 
expressions,  which  corroborate  this  conclusion. 

The  book  of  Genesis  contains  the  only  authen- 
tic history  of  the  first  twenty-four  hundred  years 
after  the  creation.  It  cannot  therefore  be  ex- 
pected, that  in  so  brief  a  history  of  twenty-four 
centuries,  we  shall  find  frequent  references  to  the 
Sabbath.  Nor  were  such  references  necessary  to 
give  permanency  to  it,  for  they  would  serve  rather 
to  weaken  than  to  strengthen  the  obligatory  power 
of  a  divinely  established  institution.  And  yet  the 
Sabbath  is,  in  two  or  three  instances,  alluded  to  in 
that  history.  When  the  waters  of  the  deluge 
began  to  subside,  Noah  sent  out  a  dove,  which 
soon  returned.  At  the  end  of  seven  days,  he  sent 
her  out  again  ;  and  at  the  end  of  seven  days  more, 
he  sent  her  out  a  third  time.  Now,  why  did  he 
wait  in  all  these  cases  just  seven  days  ?  Why  did 
he  not  wait  six  days,  or  ten  days  ?  Simply  because 
time  was  then  divided,  as  it  now  is,  into  weeks. 
The  fair  implication  therefore  is,  that  the  Sabbath 
then  existed,  and  that  weeks  were  reckoned  from 
the  close  of  one  Sabbatli  to  the  close  of  another. 

In  the  twenty-ninth  chapter  of  Genesis,  a  sim- 
ilar division  of  time  is  incidentally  mentioned. 
"  Fulfil  her  week,  and  we  will  give  thee  this  also. 
And  Jacob  did  so,  and  fulfilled  his  week."  The 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  119 

word  "  week  "  was  always  used,  except  in  pro- 
phetical discourse,  to  designate  a  period  of  exactly 
seven  days  ;  and  this  uniform  division  of  time  into 
such  periods  obviously  implied  the  existence  of 
the  Sabbath. 

In  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Exodus,  the  pre- 
existence  <3f  the  Sabbath  is  again  recognized. 
When  the  Israelites  were  supplied  with  manna, 
they  were  required  to  gather  twice  as  much  on 
the  sixth  day  of  the  week  as  on  any  other,  and 
Moses  assigns  this  as  the  reason  of  that  require- 
ment;— "To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sab- 
bath unto  the  Lord."  This  mode  of  speech 
plainly  implies  that  the  Sabbath  previously  ex- 
isted, and  not  that  it  was  then  instituted. 

The  introductory  expression  in  the  text  implies 
the  same  thing.  "Remember  the  Sabbath-day  to 
keep  it  holy."  Here,  the  injunction  to  keep  the 
Sabbath  holy  is  incorporated  into  the  code  of 
moral  laws,  which  God  gave  the  Israelites  amid 
the  thunderings,  and  lightnings,  and  quakings  of 
Sinai,  and  the  way  in  which  the  subject  is  referred 
to,  evidently  supposes  that  the  institution  previ- 
ously existed.  It  is  not  a  customary  form  of 
speech  to  call  upon  others  to  "remember"  that, 
which  had  no  previous  existence. 

If,  to  all  these  considerations,  we  add  the  facts, 


120  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

that  the  Sabbath  was  as  much  needed  by  the 
earliest  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  as  by  their  de- 
scendants, and  that  God  was  as  much  disposed  to 
consult  their  good,  as  the  good  of  others,  there 
seems  to  remain  not  a  vestige  of  doubt,  that  the 
Sabbath  was  instituted  immediately  after  the  crea- 
tion, and  was  designed  for  the  benefit  of  all  man- 
kind from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

This  result,  to  which  we  are  conducted  by  an 
appeal  to  the  Scriptures,  is  confirmed,  although 
confirmation  is  unnecessary,  by  the  testimony  of 
ancient  authors.  Homer  and  Hesiod  say  that  the 
seventh  day  was  holy.  Porphyry,  an  infidel,  says 
that  the  Phoenicians  consecrated  one  day  in  seven 
as  holy.  Philo  says  that  the  Sabbath  is  not  a 
festival  peculiar  to  any  one  people,  or  country, 
but  is  common  to  all  the  world  ;  and  that  it  may 
be  called  the  general  or  public  feast,  or  the  feast 
of  the  nativity  of  the  world.  Josephus  affirms 
that  there  is  no  city  either  of  Greeks,  or  barba- 
rians, or  any  other  nation,  where  the  religion  of 
the  Sabbath  is  not  known.  Now,  there  is  no  way 
to  account  for  this  wide  dissemination  of  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Sabbath  among  the  earliest  postdi- 
luvian nations  of  the  earth,  but  to  suppose  that 
they  received  it  from  Noah,  their  common  an- 
cestor, who  must  have  received  it  through  one 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  121 

generation  only,  from  Adam.  Thus,  by  direct  and 
indirect  proof,  the  existence  of  the  Sabbath  can 
be  traced  back  to  the  creation. 

My  next  position  is 

II.  That  the  Sabbath,  being  coeval  with  the 
existence  of  man,  is  perpetually  obligatory  upon 
him. 

The  time  when  the  Sabbath  was  instituted, 
shows  that  it  was  "  made  for  man  " — for  all  men. 
It  was  instituted  immediately  after  the  creation  of 
man  ; — it  was  the  very  first  divine  enactment 
for  the  benefit  of  man  ; — and  was  obviously  de- 
signed to  be  commensurate  with  the  duration  of 
man  upon  the  earth.  It  was  not  enacted,  like  the 
ceremonial  laws,  for  the  sole  observance  and  benefit 
of  the  Jews  as  a  nation,  because  it  was  enacted 
two  thousand  years  before  the  calling  of  Abraham 
the  "  father "  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  two 
thousand  five  hundred  years  before  the  ceremonial 
laws  were  given  to  that  people.  Besides,  this 
institution  was  no  more  necessary  to  the  national 
polity  of  the  Jews,  than  to  that  of  other  nations. 
Every  kindred,  tongue  and  people  under  the 
whole  heaven,  needs  such  an  institution  as  much 
as  did  the  Jews.  The  moral  wants  of  all  nations, 
in  every  age  of  the  world,  are  substantially  the 
same.  That  construction  therefore  is  violent  and 
9 


122  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

inadmissible,  which  makes  the  Sabbath  obligatory 
upon  the  Jews,  and  not  upon  other  nations. 

Again,  the  Sabbath  is  a  law  of  God,  and  as 
such,  it  can  cease  to  be  binding  only  in  two  ways. 
It  is  a  settled  principle,  that  all  laws  continue  in 
force  unless  they  expire  by  their  own  limitations, 
or  are  repealed  by  the  authority  which  enacted 
them.  Now,  I  maintain  that  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath has  not  been  abrogated  in  either  of  these 
ways.  It  has  not  expired  by  its  own  limitations. 
When  Jehovah  instituted  the  Sabbath,  he  made 
no  provision,  expressed  or  implied,  that  it  should 
cease  after  a  given  period.  All  that  is  said  about 
it  is,  that  "  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and 
sanctified  it."  Here  are  no  limitations.  The 
seventh  day  was  set  apart  and  sanctified  as  a  holy 
day.  The  only  natural  interpretation  is,  that  the 
Sabbath  was  intended  to  be  a  permanent  institu- 
tion. The  absence  of  any  provision,  that  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  should  be  maintained 
for  a  given  period  and  then  cease,  most  conclu- 
sively shows  that  it  could  not  expire  by  limitation. 
The  unavoidable  inference  is  that  it  is  still  in 
force. 

Nor  has  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  been  repealed. 
The  Scriptures  contain  no  account  of  a  repeal. 
On  the  contrary,  we  find  that  good  men,  under 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  123 

the  former  dispensation,  sacredly  observed  the 
Sabbath,  and  that  the  apostles,  under  the  new,  did 
the  same.  Christ  did  not  repeal  it,  for  he  not 
only  regularly  observed  the  Sabbath  himself,  but 
expressly  said,  "  I  carne  not  to  destroy  the  law 
and  the  prophets  ;  I  came  not  to  destroy,  but  to 
fulfil."  "It  is  easier  for  heaven  and  earth  to  pass, 
than  one  tittle  of  the  law  to  fail."  The  subject 
is  therefore  specially  guarded  against  the  sup- 
position that  Christ  abrogated  the  sabbatical  law. 

This  is  also  still  more  evident,  because  the  sab- 
batical law  is,  in  the  text,  made  a  constituent  part 
of  the  moral  law.  God  gave  to  Moses  on  Sinai  a 
code  of  moral  laws,  in  distinction  from  the  cere- 
monial, and  incorporated  the  original  law  of  the 
Sabbath  into  that  code,  as  an  integral  part  of  the 
same.  The  moral  law,  or  the  decalogue,  is,  in  its 
very  nature,  obligatory  on  all  men  in  all  ages  of 
the  world.  It  is  not,  like  the  ceremonial  laws  of 
the  Jews,  adapted  to  the  genius  and  circumstances 
of  one  nation  only,  but  of  all  nations  alike.  It 
was  not  designed,  like  the  ceremonial  laws  of  that 
nation,  to  cease  with  the  existence  of  that  nation, 
but  to  be  of  perpetual  obligation  on  all  mankind. 
If  the  other  nine  commandments  of  the  decalogue 
are,  in  their  very  nature,  obligatory  on  all  men ; — 
if  all  mankind  are  bound  to  have  no  other  gods 


124  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

before  Jehovah — to  make  and  serve  no  graven 
images — to  abstain  from  taking  the  name  of  God 
in  vain — to  honor  their  parents — to  refrain  from 
murder,  adultery,  theft,  bearing  false-witness  and 
covetousness,  then  they  are  equally  bound  to 
"  remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy." 

Again,  the  fourth  commandment  occupies  a 
peculiar  place  in  the  decalogue.  The  first  three 
commandments  prescribe  our  duties  to  God — the 
last  six  our  duties  to  man.  An  old  writer  rather 
quaintly,  but  pertinently  remarks,  "  The  fourth 
commandment  is  put  into  the  bosom  of  the  deca- 
logue, that  it  might  not  be  lost ; — it  is  the  golden 
clasp  which  joins  the  two  tables  together." 

Another  circumstance,  which  strengthens  the 
argument  for  the  perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath,  is, 
that  the  ten  commandments  were  written  by  God 
himself  on  tables  of  stone.  Stone  is  the  emblem 
of  durability.  A  table  of  stone,  or  a  pillar  of 
stone,  is  designed  to  transmit  whatever  is  engraved 
on  it,  down  to  as  late  a  period  as  possible.  The 
moral  law,  (a  part  of  which  is  the  fourth  com- 
mandment,) was  written  on  tables  of  stone,  thereby 
indicating  the  intention  of  the  great  Lawgiver  to 
transmit  it  to  the  latest  ages,  as  a  law  binding  on 
all  mankind ;  while  the  ceremonial  laws,  intended 
for  the  Jews  only,  were  unwritten — given  to  Moses 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  125 

orally.  Now,  why  this  distinction  in  the  mode  of 
giving  these  two  codes  of  law,  if  there  was  to  be 
no  difference  in  respect  of  their  duration?  And 
why  was  the  fourth  commandment  written  on  a 
tablet  of  stone,  like  the  other  nine,  if  Jehovah 
intended  to  make  its  obligatory  power  less  per- 
manent than  that  of  the  rest  ?  Every  interpreta- 
tion of  this  fact  is  unnatural  and  forced,  which 
does  not  admit  the  perpetual  obligation  of  the 
fourth  commandment. 

This  various  and  ample  proof  establishes  the 
position,  that  the  Sabbath  is  a  permanent  institu- 
tion ;  binding  on  us  and  on  all  men  to  the  end  of 
the  world. 

But  it  may  be  said,  that  the  Sabbath  has  been 
changed  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  and  that  this  change  of  the  day  militates 
against  the  doctrine  of  its  perpetuity.  In  reply  to 
this,  I  would  say,  that  the  day  for  the  observance 
of  any  festival  may  be  changed,  without  at  all 
affecting  the  permanency  of  that  festival.  The 
two  things  are  entirely  distinct,  and  rest  on  inde- 
pendent grounds.  But  we  have  the  high  authority 
of  "the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  "  and  of  his  apostles, 
not  only  for  the  change  of  the  day,  but  for  the 
continuance  of  the  Sabbath  after  the  change. 
The  Sabbath  was  instituted  to  commemorate  the 


126  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

resting  from  the  work  of  the  creation  ;  and  it  was 
changed  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week  to  commemorate  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
There  was  a  propriety  in  the  change,  arising  from 
the  superior  importance  of  the  latter  event. 

"  'Twas  great — to  speak  a  world  from  nought ; 
'Twas  greater — to  REDEEM." 

Christ,  by  his  own  example,  sanctioned  not  the 
change  of  the  day  only,  but  the  permanence  of 
the  institution  itself.  On  the  day  of  his  resurrec- 
tion, he  repeatedly  appeared  to  his  disciples,  and 
he  met  them  again  the  next  first  day  of  the  week, 
when  they  were  assembled  for  religious  worship, 
and  said,  "  Peace  be  unto  you"  Now,  why  did 
he  so  regularly  and  repeatedly  meet  them  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  unless  it  was  not  only  to 
change  the  day,  but  to  confirm  the  existence  and 
perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath  by  the  highest  possible 
authority  ? 

The  Holy  Spirit  also  added  his  decisive  attesta- 
tion to  the  continued  and  permanent  existence  of 
the  Sabbath,  under  the  new  regulation,  by  his  re- 
markable operations  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  which 
was  the  Christian  Sabbath.  The  conversion  of 
three  thousand  souls  was  a  glorious  consecration 
of  that  day  to  the  great  work  of  saving  men. 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  127 

The  practice  of  the  apostles  and  of  the  primi- 
tive churches,  on  this  subject,  conformed  to  the 
example  and  probable  instructions  of  their  Master. 
They  regularly  observed  "the  first  day  of  the 
week"  as  the  Sabbath.  On  that  day,  they  were 
accustomed  to  assemble  for  public  worship,  to 
celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  to  contribute  of 
their  substance  to  supply  the  wants  of  their  needy 
brethren. 

Ecclesiastical  history  informs  us  that,  in  the 
early  ages  of  the  Christian  church,  the  first  day 
of  the  week  was  observed  as  the  Sabbath.  Ig- 
natius, Justin  Martyr,  Constantine,  Theophilus, 
and  others,  have  left  their  testimony  to  the  extent 
and  correctness  of  that  practice.  The  same  prac- 
tice has  continued  to  the  present  time,  and  no 
doubt  will  continue  till  the  consummation  of  all 
things. 

Such  is  a  brief  view  of  the  proof  that  the  Sab- 
bath is  of  perpetual  obligation,  binding  alike  on  all 
nations  and  individuals  to  the  end  of  time. 

The  way  is  now  prepared  to  consider, 

III.  The  manner  in  which  the   Sabbath  should 

P 

be  observed.  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy."  In  the  Scriptures,  that  is  called 
holy  which  is  set  apart,  and  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  God,  Now  God  has  set  apart  and 


128  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

sanctified  the  Sabbath,  as  a  day  to  be  devoted  ex- 
clusively to  his  service.  A  proper  observance  of 
the  Sabbath,  therefore,  includes  attention  to  two 
things  ; — the  duties  we  are  to  perform — and  the 
acts  and  feelings  from  which  we  are  to  abstain. 

Of  the  duties  we  are  to  perform  on  the  Sabbath, 
the  following  are  the  more  prominent. 

1.  Rest  from  secular  labor.    The  word  Sabbath 
means  rest.     It  received  its  meaning  from  the  fact 
that  God  rested  from  the  work  of  creation.     On 
the  Sabbath,  all  secular  labor  is  to  cease.     "  In  it 
thou  shall  not  do  any  work."     The  moment  the 
Sabbath  begins,  there  is  to  be  an  universal  pause 
of  the  din  and  bustle  of  the  week.     In  all  well- 
regulated,  Christian  communities,  all  animate  and 
inanimate  things  seem  to  sympathize  in  the  still- 
ness of  the  Sabbath.     The  heavens  and  the  earth 
appear  to  be  unusually  placid  and  serene,  and  all 
animated  nature  to  repose  in  unwonted  quietness. 
Man,    too,   man,  for   whom   **the    Sabbath   was 
made,"  should  cease  from  secular  labor,  and  rest 
in  the  service  of  God. 

2.  Self-examination,  reading  the  Scriptures  and 
other  religious  books,  and  secret  prayer  are  duties, 
which,  though  they  are  to  be  attended  to  on  the 
other  days  of  the  week,  are   to  receive  special 
attention   on   the    Sabbath.      Indeed,   the    great 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  129 

reason  for  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  was,  to 
give  us  an  unmolested  opportunity  to  become  ex- 
perimentally acquainted  with  our  Maker — to  cul- 
tivate nearness  of  access  to  him,  and  intimate  com- 
munion with  him.  The  leisure  and  quietness  of 
the  Sabbath  afford  an  excellent  opportunity  for, 
and  supply  powerful  motives  to  deep  self-inspec- 
tion, devout  reading  and  meditation,  and  near 
approaches  to  God  on  the  mercy  seat.  These 
high  and  holy  communings  with  heaven  are  a  most 
essential  part  of  the  duties  of  the  Lord's  day.  All 
persons,  who  cultivate  none  of  this  hallowed  in- 
tercourse with  God,  do  not  "  remember  the  Sab- 
bath day  to  keep  it  holy." 

Many  persons  would  acquire  but  a  little  know- 
ledge of  the  Bible  and  of  divine  things,  were  it 
not  for  the  leisure  afforded  them  by  the  Sabbath. 
Persons  employed  in  manufactories,  day  laborers 
and  domestics,  often  cannot  devote  as  much  time 
during  the  secular  days  of  the  week  to  religious 
improvement,  as  their  cases  demand;  but  the  Sab- 
bath comes  to  their  relief,  and  spreads  out  before 
them  the  ample  page  of  divine  knowledge.  Em- 
ploy, then,  this  holy  day  in  obtaining  that  know- 
ledge of  yourselves  and  of  God,  which  will  prepare 
you  for  the  companionship  of  the  seraphim. 

3.  Family  instruction  is  an  important  branch  of 


130  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

the  duties  of  the  Sabbath.  The  man  of  a  thousand 
cares  can  now  retire  to  the  bosom  of  his  family, 
and  spend  holy  time  in  imparting  instruction  to  his 
children  and  domestics.  The  family  are  now 
together.  The  parents  are  the  natural  instructors 
of  the  circle,  and  all  the  group  look  up  to  them 
for  counsel  and  example.  What  a  favorable  op- 
portunity to  exert  good  influence  !  What  an 
amount  of  religious  knowledge  may  parents  impart 
in  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  !  How  many  gems 
may  they  add  to  the  brilliant  crown  of  the  Re- 
deemer, by  fidelity  to  the  souls  of  their  house- 
holds !  If  they  are  unfaithful,  they  will  have  an 
account  to  render  at  the  judgment,  which  will  fill 
them  with  consternation. 

4.  Public  worship  claims  your  special  attention 
on  the  Sabbath.  Public  worship  is  fitted  to  the 
nature  of  man  as  a  social  being.  Jn  all  ages  of 
the  church,  it  has  been  sustained.  The  Jews  had 
their  holy  convocations  on  the  Sabbath.  Often 
did  they  chant  the  high  praises  of  God  in  the 
words  of  the  psalmist,  "  How  amiable  are  thy 
tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts !  Blessed  are  they 
that  dwell  in  thy  house ;  they  will  be  still  praising 
thee.  For  a  day  in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a 
thousand  :  I  had  rather  be  a  door-keeper  in  the 
house  of  my  God,  than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  131 

wickedness.  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 
let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

The  Bible  tells  us  that  it  was  the  "  custom  "  of 
Jesus  Christ,  when  on  the  earth,  to  attend  public 
worship  in  the  synagogue.  The  apostles  used  to 
meet  with  their  converts,  and  worship  God  on  the 
Sabbath.  They  commanded  men  not  to  "forsake 
the  assembling  of  themselves  together,  as  the 
manner  of  some  "  was  even  at  that  early  period. 
Good  men,  in  all  ages,  have  loved  the  sanctuary. 
Here,  "  the  rich  and  the  poor  meet  together." 
Here,  they  are  made,  in  some  measure,  to  feel, 
that 

"  All  the  distinctions  of  (his  little  life 
Are  quite  cutaneous" 

and  that  they  will  all  be  forgotten  in  the  great  and 
endless  distinction  between  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked  in  heaven  and  hell. 

Who  can  estimate  the  influence  of  the  sanctuary 
on  the  intelligence,  the  morals,  and  the  religion  of 
the  world.  The  oft-repeated  lines  of  Cowper 
have  lost  none  of  their  truth  ; — 

"  The  pulpit, 

I  say  the  pulpit,  in  the  sober  use 
Of  its  legitimate  peculiar  powers, 
Must  stand  acknowledged,  while  the  world  shall  stand, 
The  most  important  and  effectual  guard, 
Support  and  ornament  of  virtue's  cause.*' 


132  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

Regularly  attend,  then,  my  young  friends,  the 
public  worship  of  God.  Sanctify  the  Sabbath  by 
resorting  to  his  house  "  with  the  multitude  which 
keep  holy  day,"  and  by  offering  the  homage  of 
humble,  contrite  hearts. 

But  a  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath  requires 
us  to  abstain  from  certain  acts  and  feelings,  as 
well  as  to  perform  the  above-mentioned  duties. 
In  order  to  ascertain  what  things  are  prohibited  on 
the  Sabbath,  we  must  examine  somewhat  more 
closely  the  fourth  commandment,  and  our  Saviour's 
expositions  of  it.  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day 
to  keep  it  holy.  Six  days  shall  thou  labor  and 
do  all  thy  work,  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord  thy  God.  In  it,  thou  shalt  not 
do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter, 
thy  man  servant,  nor  thy  maid  servant,  thy  cattle, 
nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates."  Here, 
all  heads  of  families  are  expressly  forbidden  to  do 
"  any  work,"  and  the  prohibition  extends  to  their 
sons  and  daughters,  their  men  servants  and  maid 
servants,  their  cattle,  and  the  strangers  whom  they 
happen  to  entertain.  The  prohibition  is  positive 
and  absolute,  "  Thou  shalt  not  do  any  work ;  " 
and,  under  the  Mosaic  economy,  the  least  violation 
of  this  rule  was  punished  with  death.  In  process 
of  time,  the  Jews  engrafted  many  of  their  tradi- 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  133 

tions  on  this  law,  and  accounted  it  improper  to 
repel  force  by  force,  to  use  oil  medicinally,  or  to 
heal  the  sick  on  the  Sabbath  day.  To  show  that 
these  traditional  constructions  of  the  law,  forbidding 
us  to  "  do  any  work"  were  incorrect,  Christ  him- 
self expounded  its  meaning.  Let  us  look  at  his 
exposition. 

On  a  certain  Sabbath,  he  found  a  woman  in  a 
synagogue,  who  had  been  severely  afflicted  with 
disease  eighteen  years,  and  he  healed  her.  The 
ruler  of  the  synagogue  was  indignant,  and  said  to 
the  people  ; — "  There  are  six  days  in  which  men 
ought  to  work  :  in  them,  therefore,  come  and  be 
healed,  and  not  on  the  Sabbath  day."  Our  Lord, 
knowing  that  the  rebuke  was  intended  for  himself, 
answered,  "  Thou  hypocrite,  doth  not  each  one 
of  you  on  the  Sabbath  day,  loose  his  ox  or  his  ass 
from  the  stall,  and  lead  him  away  to  watering  ; 
and  ought  not  this  woman,  being  a  daughter  of 
Abraham,  whom  Satan  hath  bound,  lo,  these 
eighteen  years,  be  loosed  from  this  bond  on  the 
Sabbath  day  ?  And  all  his  adversaries  were 
ashamed." 

At  another  time,  Jesus,  going  to  the  synagogue 
on  the  Sabbath,  "  went  through  the  corn,  and 
his  disciples  were  an  hungered,  and  began  to  pluck 
the  ears  of  corn  and  to  eat."  The  Pharisees 


134  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

charged  them  with  breaking  the  Sabbath.  But 
our  Lord  fully  justified  them  on  the  ground  of  the 
urgent  necessity  of  the  case.  It  was  to  save  life. 
The  same  day,  he  found  in  the  synagogue  "a 
man  whose  hand  was  withered."  The  Jews,  with 
their  usual  captiousness,  asked  him,  "  Is  it  lawful 
to  heal  on  the  Sabbath  day  ?  And  he  said  unto 
them,  what  man  shall  there  be  among  you,  that 
shall  have  one  sheep,  and  if  it  fall  into  a  pit  on 
the  Sabbath  day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and 
lift  it  out  ?  How  much,  then,  is  a  man  better  than 
a  sheep  ?  Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on 
the  Sabbath  days." 

These  expositions  are  all  which  Christ  thought 
necessary  to  give  of  the  clause,  "  Thou  shall  not 
do  any  work."  Now,  let  it  be  distinctly  remem- 
bered, that,  in  all  these  cases,  no  work  is  allowed, 
but  works  of  mercy  only.  It  is  a  work  of  mercy 
to  relieve  an  ox  or  a  sheep  from  present  suffering, 
to  deliver  men  and  women  from  present  severe 
bodily  infirmities,  and  to  appease  present  hunger. 
And  in  all  these  cases,  it  was  a  work,  which  could 
not  be  postponed  till  Monday  without  endangering 
life.  They  were  then  necessary  works  of  mercy.* 

*  For  some  of  the  thoughts  in  this  lecture,  the  author  grate- 
fully acknowledges  his  obligation  to  a  Treatise  on  the  Sabbath 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Humphrey,  of  Amherst  college  ; — a  work,  which 
deserves  a  far  more  extensive  circulation. 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  135 

The  phrase,  "  necessary  works  of  mercy"  is  intel- 
ligible, describes  more  accurately  the  only  excep- 
tion to  the  fourth  commandment,  and  is  less  liable 
to  abuse,  than  that  used  by  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly of  divines  ; — namely,  "  works  of  necessity 
and  mercy."  There  are  many  sorts  of  business, 
which  some  would  call  "  works  of  necessity"  but 
which  are  not  necessary  works  of  mercy,  and  there- 
fore they  are  forbidden  by  the  fourth  command- 
ment. 

Here,  then,  is  the  test,  to  which  we  are  to  bring 
all  our  conduct  on  the  Sabbath.  The  command- 
ment is,  '•'  Thou  shalt  not  do  any  work ; "  and 
the  only  exception,  authorized  by  the  great  Ex- 
pounder of  the  law,  is — those  works,  which  are 
clearly  necessary  works  of  MERCY.  None  others, 
under  any  circumstances,  are  allowed. 

Let  us  subject  some  of  the  practices  of  society 
to  this  decisive  test. 

Here  is  a  farmer,  who  has  a  field  of  grain, 
which  for  sometime  has  been  ready  for  the  sickle, 
but  in  consequence  of  continued  rains,  he  has  been 
unable  to  harvest  it.  And,  to  make  the  case  as 
strong  as  possible,  we  will  suppose  him  to  be  a 
poor  man,  and  that  his  family  are  quite  dependent 
on  this  grain  for  their  bread.  The  first  fair  day 
is  the  Sabbath.  The  grain  has  already  begun  to 


136  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

sprout  in  the  ear.  Monday  it  may  rain  again. 
Now,  the  question  is,  does  our  Saviour's  exposition 
of  the  fourth  commandment  allow  him,  even  in 
this  extreme  case,  to  go  and  gather  his  grain  on 
the  Sabbath  ?  The  case  turns  on  the  point,  Is  it 
a  necessary  work  of  MEKCY  ?  Is  it  present  suffer- 
ing which  is  to  be  relieved  ?  No.  His  family  are 
all  in  health.  They  have  at  present  a  supply  for 
their  wants.  They  are  in  no  immediate  danger  of 
starvation.  The  case  then  does  not  come  within 
the  exception.  He  ought  not  to  gather  his  grain 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  He  ought  to  obey  God, 
and  leave  the  result  with  him.  His  command  is, 
"  Six  days  thou  shalt  work,  but  on  the  seventh 
day  thou  shalt  rest ;  in  earing  time  and  in  harvest 
thou  shalt  rest."  "  Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do 
good,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed." 

But  he  may  reply  to  this,  and  say,  "  I  ex- 
pended much  labor  in  preparing  that  field  for  a 
crop.  God  has  blessed  the  work  of  my  hands, 
and  brought  my  crop  to  maturity  ;  and  now,  does 
he  not  design  that  I  shall  gather  it  on  the  Sabbath, 
rather  than  lose  it  entirely  ?"  My  answer  is,  that 
this  reasoning  does  not  invalidate  the  rule,  "Thou 
shalt  not  do  any  work."  The  law  is  to  be  obeyed. 
And  besides,  it  is  not  certain  that  God  intended 
he  should  enjoy  the  crop,  because  it  is  brought  to 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  137 

maturity.  Often  has  he  blessed  the  labors  of  the 
husbandman,  and  caused  his  crops  to  ripen,  and 
given  him  a  favorable  opportunity  for  harvest,  and 
then  sent  the  lightnings  of  heaven  and  consumed 
the  whole,  after  it  was  deposited  in  the  barn.  It 
is  the  duty  of  every  one  to  obey  God,  and  leave 
all  consequences  to  his  disposal. 

"  But,"  says  another,  "  I  keep  a  livery  stable. 
Myself  and  family  are  dependent  on  that  business 
for  support.  I  can  let  more  horses  and  carriages 
on  the  Sabbath  than  on  any  other  day  of  the 
week,  and  I  cannot  sustain  myself  if  I  do  not  let 
them  on  the  Sabbath.  Is  it  not  right  for  me  to 
continue  the  business  ?  "  The  answer  turns  again 
on  the  point,  whether  it  is  a  necessary  work  of 
mercy  to  let  his  horses  and  carriages  on  the  Sab- 
.•?  bath.  It  is  his  duty  to  let  them  to  physicians, 
who  have  no  other  means  of  conveyance  to  visit 
their  patients,  and  to  other  persons,  whose  absent 
friends  are  sick  and  are  in  pressing  need  of  their 
assistance.  These,  and  similar  cases,  come  within 
the  exception.  But  to  let  them  to  all  persons  in- 
discriminately, for  purposes  of  recreation  or  gain, 
is  a  palpable  violation  of  the  Lord's  day. 

"  But,"  says  the  man,  "  I  am  not  in  the  habit 
of  inquiring  after  other  people's  business.     I  do 
not  know  whether  their  friends  are  sick,  or  in 
10 


138  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

health.  I  am  applied  to  for  means  of  conveyance, 
and  may  I  not  in  all  cases  furnish  them  ? "  Jesus 
Christ,  by  his  recorded  expositions  of  the  law, 
has  settled  the  point.  You  have  the  means,  or 
you  may  have  them  without  any  impertinent  in- 
quisitiveness,  of  knowing  whether  you  let  them 
for  purposes  of  pleasure  or  profit,  or  for  those 
which  the  "  Lord  of  the  Sabbath "  approves. 
You  are  therefore  bound  to  discriminate,  and  never 
to  furnish  the  means  of  conveyance  to  persons, 
who  you  know  will  employ  them  in  violating  the 
Sabbath. 

The  same  rule  applies  to  the  hiring  as  to  the 
letting  of  means  of  conveyance.  No  man  has  a 
right  to  hire  them,  or  to  use  his  own  on  the  Sab- 
bath, except  it  be  to  perform  a  necessary  work  of 
mercy — a  work  of  mercy,  which  cannot  be  post- 
poned to  another  day.  What  an  amount  of  guilt, 
then,  attaches  to  the  multitude  in  our  large  cities, 
and  towns,  and  villages,  who  charter  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  conveyances  by  land  and  water,  and 
drive  over  and  trample  under  foot  the  Sabbaths  of 
Him,  who  has  commanded  us  all  to  remember 
them  and  keep  them  holy  ! 

Take  another  case.  In  a  large  manufacturing 
establishment,  it  happens,  that,  just  at  sunset  on 
Saturday,  a  principal  wheel  in  the  machinery 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  139 

breaks,  and  it  will  take  five  men  a  whole  day  to 
repair  it.  A  hundred,  or  perhaps  two  hundred 
persons  cannot  proceed  with  their  business  till  the 
repair  is  made.  Now,  the  question  is,  must  this 
repair  be  made  on  the  Sabbath,  or  must  it  be  de- 
ferred till  Monday,  and  the  numerous  operatives 
lie  still,  on  expense,  a  whole  day  ?  Bring  the 
case  to  the  test  of  the  principle  established  by  our 
Lord,  and  what  is  the  decision  ?  Is  it  a  necessary 
work  of  mercy  to  make  the  repair  on  the  Sabbath? 
Whose  life  or  health  will  be  placed  in  jeopardy  by 
the  delay  of  one  day  ?  Nobody's.  It  is  then  a 
mere  question  of  property — of  profit  or  loss.  If 
five  machinists  may  on  the  Sabbath  repair  the 
broken  wheel,  on  the  same  principle,  the  farmer 
and  the  mechanic  may  repair  their  tools,  and  other 
trades  ply  their  respective  occupations.  The  dif- 
ference in  the  magnitude  of  the  concern,  in  the 
one  case  and  in  the  other,  makes  no  difference  in 
the  principle  involved.  It  is  still  a  mere  question 
of  property,  and  therefore  the  propriety  of  the 
repair  is  not  admitted  by  our  Lord's  construction 
of  the  fourth  commandment. 

Suppose  another  case.  In  this  manufacturing 
establishment,  there  are  some  hundreds  of  persons, 
who  are  almost  incessantly  occupied  with  business 
during  the  week,  and,  on  the  Sabbath,  a  strong 


140  PROPER  OBSERVANCE 

temptation  is  presented  to  spend  a  part  of  the  day, 
at  least,  in  walking  the  fields  and  streets,  or  in 
riding  into  the  surrounding  country.  Now,  does 
their  confinement  during  the  week  give  them  a 
dispensation  from  the  duty  of  remembering  "  the 
Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy?"  Not  at  all. 
Spending  the  day,  or  any  part  of  it,  in  mere 
recreation,  is  positively  forbidden.  To  spend  it 
so,  is  to  incur  the  wrath  of  Heaven. 

But  here  is  a  young  man,  who  wishes  to  go  and 
see  his  friends,  some  ten  or  twenty  miles  distant, 
and  he  can  save  the  wages  of  a  whole  day,  by 
visiting  them  on  the  Sabbath.  Has  he  not  a  right 
to  go  ?  No.  It  is  not  a  necessary  work  of 
mercy.  His  friends  are  in  health,  or,  at  least,  he 
knows  nothing  to  the  contrary.  His  object  is 
merely  the  gratification,  which  a  visit  to  his  friends 
would  afford.  His  duty  therefore  is  plain.  He 
must  forego  the  gratification  of  a  visit,  and  keep 
the  Sabbath  holy. 

There  are  many  other  usages  of  society  which 
fall  under  the  condemnation  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment, which  I  have  not  time  to  notice  at 
large.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  trans- 
portation of  the  mail  on  the  Sabbath,  the  opening 
of  post-offices,  the  delivery  of  letters,  the  posting 
of  books,  the  loading  and  sailing  of  vessels,  the 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  141 

reading  of  political  newspapers  and  literary  peri- 
odicals, and  the  selling  and  drinking  of  ardent 
spirits. 

Finally,  it  is  to  be  particularly  remembered, 
that  a  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath  requires 
not  only  the  practice  of  the  duties,  and  the  avoid- 
ance of  the  sins  mentioned  in  this  lecture,  but 
abstinence  from  all  worldly,  unholy  feelings  and 
thoughts.  God  looketh  on  the  heart.  All  re- 
ligious duties  may  be  externally  performed,  and 
yet  the  Sabbath  is  violated,  unless  the  heart  be 
right.  A  renewed,  a  holy  heart  is  indispensable 
to  a  real  compliance  with  the  requisitions  of  the 
fourth  commandment. 

My  youthful  hearers,  viewing  the  conduct  of 
many  of  our  fellow  citizens  in  the  light  of  this 
commandment  as  explained  by  our  Lord,  it  is  not 
to  be  denied,  that  the  Sabbath  is  violated  to  an 
alarming  extent.  And  there  is  much  reason  to 
fear,  that  this  evil  is  increasing  with  the  prosperity 
of  the  country.  The  rapid  growth  of  our  cities 
and  villages — the  increase  of  luxury  and  wealth — 
the  multiplication  of  canals,  and  stearn-boats,  and 
rail-ways — the  impatience  of  restraint — and  the 
laxness  of  many  professed  observers  of  the  Sab- 
bath, all,  all  contribute  to  roll  the  tide  of  desecra- 
tion over  that  holy  day.  The  whole  land  groans 


142          OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

under  this  abomination.  And  if  God  is  strict 
to  mark  iniquity — if  he  sent  his  chosen  people 
into  a  seventy  years'  captivity  because  they  would 
not  keep  the  Sabbath,  how  much  have  we,  as  a 
nation,  to  fear  !  Nothing  but  timely  repentance 
and  reformation  can  avert  his  fierce  anger.  O, 
let  the  young  men  of  our  land  lay  this  subject  to 
heart.  They  can  do  much  to  increase,  and  much 
to  prevent  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath.  This 
generation  of  youth  have  the  question  to  decide, 
whether  the  Sabbath  shall  be  a  day  of  amusement 
and  business,  or  whether  it  shall  be  devoted  to  its 
proper  objects.  The  responsibility  on  them  is 
tremendous.  Save  the  Sabbath,  then,  from  dese- 
cration. Give  it  the  whole  weight  of  your  influ- 
ence. Remember  that  the  day,  which  shall  wit- 
ness an  universal  prostration  of  the  Sabbath,  will 
shine,  though  with  dimmed  lustre,  on  the  cemetery 
of  our  republican  and  Christian  institutions  and  of 
the  hopes  of  the  world. 


LECTURE  VI. 

MORALITY     NECESSARY,     BUT      INSUFFI- 
CIENT   TO    SALVATION. 

MATT.  six.  16 — 22. — And  behold,  one  came  and  said  unto  him,  Good 
Master,  what  good  thing  shall  I  do,  that  1  may  have  eternal  life  ;  And  he 
said  unto  him,  Why  callest  thou  me  good  ?  there  is  none  good  but  one,  that 
is,  God ;  but  if  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments.  He  saith 
unto  him,  Which  >  Jesus  said,  Thou  shall  do  no  murder,  Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery,  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness, 
Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  and,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self. The  young  man  saith  unto  him,  All  these  have  I  kept  from  my  youth 
up  ;  what  lack  I  yet  >  Jesus  said  unto  him,  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and 
sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in 
heaven  ;  and  come  and  follow  me.  But  when  the  young  man  heard  that 
saying,  he  went  away  sorrowful,  for  he  had  great  possessions. 

IN  all  enlightened,  well-regulated  communi- 
ties, morality  is  held  to  be  essential  to  the  highest 
prosperity  of  man.  Its  praises  are  on  every 
tongue.  It  has  been  often  recommended  in  the 
most  splendid  creations  of  the  poet's  fancy,  by  the 
didactic  instructions  of  the  theologian,  and  from 
the  chair  of  the  professed  teacher  of  moral  science. 
And  yet,  in  common  discourse,  morality  is  a  term 


144      MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

of  very  indefinite  signification.  Customs  and 
practices,  which  some  think  are  conformable  to 
the  rules  of  morality,  others  deem  to  be  palpable 
violations  of  the  same.  This  arises  from  the  fact, 
that  men  appeal  to  no  common  standard,  to  deter- 
mine the  moral  quality  of  actions.  Though  there 
is  a  standard  of  appeal,  which  is  safe  and  decisive, 
most  men  seem  to  be  unwilling  to  bring  their  con- 
duct to  so  high  and  holy  a  test.  They  are  afraid 
of  the  consequences.  They  anticipate  an  unfa- 
vorable decision. 

But  such  is  the  homage  which  vice  pays  to 
virtue,  that  men  are  anxious  to  keep  themselves 
in  countenance  while  they  are  living,  if  the  Bible 
be  admitted  to  judge,  in  habits  of  fearful  delin- 
quency. Hence,  rules  of  life  and  manners  are 
created,  in  different  communities,  by  public  opinion, 
or,  more  properly  speaking,  by  the  prevailing  taste 
of  those  communities.  These  rules  are  purely 
conventional ;  and,  formed  under  these  circum- 
stances, they  are,  almost  of  necessity,  more  lax 
and  accommodating  than  those  contained  in  the 
Scriptures  of  truth.  It  was  in  this  way,  that  theft 
came  to  be  considered  a  virtue  by  the  Spartans, 
provided  it  was  not  discovered  ;  and  that  war  was 
regarded  by  the  martial  Romans,  as  not  only 
proper,  but,  in  the  highest  degree,  honorable. 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  145 

Hence  it  is,  too,  that  the  laws  of  chastity  are  so 
commonly  violated  in  France,  and  that  duelling  is 
so  frequently  practiced  in  some  parts  of  the  United 
States.  According  to  these  lax  rules  of  judgment, 
what  is  right  in  one  country  is  wrong  in  another — 
what  is  honorable  on  one  parallel  of  latitude,  may 
be  dishonorable  on  the  next.  "Mountains  inter- 
posed "  determine  the  quality  of  actions,  and  pro- 
nounce the  same  actions,  on  the  one  side,  wrong  ; 
and,  on  the  other  side,  right. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that,  apart  from  the 
Bible,  the  moral  quality  of  actions  can  never  be 
determined.  If  the  Bible  be  not  the  standard, 
men  have  no  standard.  But,  all  believers  in  di- 
vine revelation  admit  the  Bible  to  be  the  standard, 
by  which  all  actions  are  to  be  tried.  They  hold 
it  to  be  an  authoritative,  infallible  standard,  and 
one  from  which  there  lies  no  appeal. 

The  young  man,  whose  history  is  given  us  in 
the  text,  sustained  a  character,  according  to  the 
judgment  of  this  world,  of  the  most  irreproacha- 
ble morality.  So  far  as  his  outward  conduct  was 
concerned,  he  had  kept  all  the  commandments 
from  his  youth  up.  But  when  Jesus,  to  test  the 
soundness  of  his  morality  by  the  rules  of  the 
Scriptures,  told  him  to  go  and  sell  all  that  he  had 
and  give  it  to  the  poor — to  make  an  entire  and  un- 


146  MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

conditional  surrender  of  the  world,  as  the  indis- 
pensable condition  of  discipleship  and  of  admission 
into  heaven,  he  could  not  abide  the  trial ; — "  he 
went  away  sorrowful,  for  he  had  great  posses- 
sions." 

The  history  of  this  young  man  is  substantially 
that  of  many  other  youth.  It  is  proposed  to  con- 
sider the  subject,  suggested  by  his  history,  in  its 
application  to  the  young  people  of  this  village  ;  a 
village,  which,  after  making  all  reasonable  deduc- 
tions on  the  score  of  local  predilection,  must  be 
admitted  to  hold,  at  least,  as  high  a  place  on  the 
scale  of  morals,  as  other  villages  equally  popu- 
lous. 

The  general  sentiment  taught  by  the  text  is, 
that  strict  morality  is  indispensable,  but  insufficient 
to  salvation. 

The  two  parts  of  this  proposition  will  be  con- 
sidered separately. 

I.     Strict  morality  is  indispensable  to  salvation. 

The  term  morality  is  here  used  in  the  popular 
acceptation — meaning  just  what  it  imports  in  com- 
mon usage.  Some  men,  in  their  zeal  to  enforce 
the  scriptural  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace  alone, 
have,  by  implication,  communicated  the  idea,  that 
sound  morals  have  but  little  connection  with  our 
preparation  for  heaven.  This  idea,  however,  is 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  147 

wholly  at  variance  with  the  preparation  demanded. 
Admitting,  what  is  truly  the  fact,  that  vital  piety 
is  the  grand  requisite  for  entrance  into  life,  it  by 
no  means  follows,  that  strict  morality  is  unneces- 
sary or  unimportant.  Though  the  greater  be  in- 
dispensable, the  lesser  may  be  equally  so.  Mo- 
rality, in  one  sense,  may  be  said  to  sustain  very 
much  the  same  relation  to  religion,  which  a  part 
does  to  the  whole ; — and  surely,  if  the  whole,  be 
demanded,  its  parts,  of  course,  are  required.  It 
is  altogether  a  delusive  and  dangerous  impression, 
that  a  man  can  give  credible  evidence  of  piety, 
while  his  morals  are  questionable.  What  evidence 
of  personal  holiness  can  he  give,  if  he  is  seriously 
deficient  in  sobriety,  or  honesty,  or  integrity,  or 
benevolence  ?  How  can  he  substantiate  his  title 
to  heaven,  if  he  exhibits  habitual  defects  in  the 
social  and  mercantile  virtues  ?  His  pretensions  to 
piety  rest  on  a  slender  basis  indeed,  if  they  are 
not  accredited  by  a  life  of  consistent  morality. 

Antinomianism  is  as  far  removed  from  religion 
on  the  one  hand,  as  Arminianism  is  on  the  other. 
While  mere  morality  is  utterly  inadequate  to  save 
the  soul,  good  works  are  indispensable  as  the  fruit 
and  evidence  of  religion  in  the  heart.  "  What 
doth  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  man  say  he 
hath  faith,  and  have  not  works?  can  faith  save 


148      MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

him  ?  "  "  Whoso  hath  this  world's  goods,  and 
seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his 
bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the 
love  of  God  in  him  ?  "  "  If  any  man  among  you 
seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue, 
but  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion  is 
vain."  "  For  as  the  body  without  the  spirit  is 
dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also."  Thus 
emphatically  do  the  inspired  writers  pronounce  all 
religious  hopes  to  be  vain,  if  they  are  not  sup- 
ported by  a  life  of  strict  morality.  But 

II.  The  strictest  morality  of  the  world  is  en- 
tirely insufficient  to  salvation.  That  it  is  sufficient, 
is  a  very  prevalent  error ;  and  dangerous,  just  in 
proportion  to  its  prevalence.  This  branch  of  the 
subject,  therefore,  requires  to  be  treated  more  at 
large.  Some  of  the  usages  of  society,  on  which 
great  reliance  for  salvation  is  frequently  placed, 
will  be  put  to  the  test  of  the  Scriptures,  as  that  is 
the  only  standard  of  appeal. 

The  scriptural  rule  of  morality  is  summarily 
announced  in  these  two  declarations  ; — "  Thou 
shall  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  "  All  things  what- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do 
ye  even  so  to  them ;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the 
prophets."  As  this  rule  of  morality  applies  to  a 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  149 

great  variety  of  subjects  and  relations,  I  can,  in 
this  lecture,  show  its  application  to  only  a  few  of 
them. 

1.  Strict  morality  forbids  us  to  injure  others  by 
violating  their  right  of  property.  That  right 
may  be  violated  in  three  ways; — by  theft,  robbery, 
and  fraud.  Theft  is  the  taking  of  the  property 
of  others  without  their  knowledge.  But  few  in- 
stances of  theft  on  a  large  scale  occur.  There  is, 
in  such  cases,  more  danger  of  detection,  and  this 
operates  as  a  powerful  preventive  of  theft.  Most 
of  the  thefts,  which -are  committed,  consist  in  pil- 
fering or  purloining  articles  of  small  value.  There 
are  probably  more  immoralities  of  this  sort  than 
are  commonly  imagined,  even  in  communities 
which  claim  to  be  honest.  Clerks,  apprentices 
and  domestics  frequently  handle  the  property  of 
others,  and  are  under  strong  temptations  *to  this 
species  of  dishonesty.  Nor  is  the  moral  character 
of  the  most  petty  theft  altered,  by  persuading  our- 
selves that  the  owner  will  never  know  it,  or  that 
he  will  not  care  about  it,  or  that  he  would  have 
no  objection,  or  that  he  can  afford  to  lose  the 
property.  None  of  these  excuses  palliate,  in  the 
slightest  degree,  the  heinousness  of  the  offence. 
I  put  it  to  the  consciences  of  the  young,  and  ask, 
whether  any  of  you  are  guilty  of  such  violations 


150      MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

of  the  command,  "  Thou  shall  not  steal."  If  you 
are,  "  be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out."  Your 
offences  were  committed  not  merely  against  the 
injured  individuals,  but  against  society,  against 
conscience,  against  the  moral  law,  against  God; 
and  all  are  interested  in  bringing  them  to  light. 
Escape,  therefore,  is  impossible. 

Robbery  is  the  taking  of  the  property  of  another, 
with  his  consent  compulsorily  obtained.  The  high- 
wayman meets  a  traveller,  and  threatens  him  with 
instant  death,  unless  he  surrenders  his  money. 
Here,  consent  is  obtained,  but  obtained  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  or  the  mouth  of  the  pistol.  This 
is  a  high-handed  offence  against  society,  and, 
under  most  governments,  is  capitally  punished. 
As  this  offence  is  comparatively  infrequent,  as  it 
is  committed  only  by  the  most  hardened  despera- 
does, and,  as  it  should  seem,  they  cannot  hope  for 
salvation  on  the  ground  of  their  morality,  it  is  un- 
necessary to  dwell  on  it  at  length. 

The  rule  of  morality,  respecting  the  property 
of  others,  is  much  more  frequently  violated  by 
fraud.  Fraud  is  not  so  tangible  a  thing  as  theft 
or  robbery,  it  can  be  practiced  in  a  greater  variety 
of  forms,  and  is  not  so  easily  exposed.  Hence, 
the  frequency  of  this  species  of  immorality. 

A  man  is  guilty  of  fraud,  when  he  sells  an  in- 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  151 

ferior  article  at  the  market  price  of  good  ones. 
This  is  done  by  artfully  magnifying  the  value  of 
the  article.  The  seller  knows  that  it  is  not  as 
good  as  the  average  quality  of  such  articles. 
Rather  than  sell  it  at  its  fair  value,  he  tries  various 
methods  to  make  the  buyer  think  it  as  good  as 
articles  of -that  kind  will  average  5  and  if  he  suc- 
ceeds in  disposing  of  it  above  its  actual  value,  he 
commits  fraud  upon  the  property  of  his  neighbor ; 
that  is,  he  knowingly  receives  from  him  more  than 
an  equivalent  for  the  article  sold. 

Now,  I  ask,  is  not  this  species  of  fraud  fre- 
quently practiced,  and  practiced  too  without  com- 
punction, by  men  who  hold  a  respectable  standing 
in  society,  and  who  would  highly  resent  it  if  they 
should  be  called  immoral  ?  Such  conduct  may 
be  connived  at  by  the  lax  maxims  of  society,  but 
it  is  pointedly  condemned  by  the  golden  rule,-1- 
"  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."  This  law  of  re- 
ciprocity between  man  and  man  exposes  the  deep 
iniquity  of  such  transactions,  however  customary 
they  may  be  in  the  high  places  of  this  world's 
respectability. 

A  man  is  also  guilty  of  fraud,  who  sells  any 
article  above  the  market  price.  It  is  the  common 
understanding  of  mankind,  that  the  market  price 


J52  MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

is  the  rule  which  determines  the  worth  of  an 
article.  Every  seller  takes  pains  to  create  the 
expectation,  that  he  will  sell  at  the  market  price. 
He  would  consider  it  an  impeachment  of  his 
character,  were  it  asserted,  that  he  is  unwilling  to 
sell  at  that  price.  All  this  shows,  that  it  is  mor- 
ally right  to  se}l  at  the  market  price,  and  at  no 
higher  one.  He,  then,  is  guilty  of  fraud,  who  sells 
above  that  price.  Nor  can  the  fraudulent  character 
of  the  sale  be  altered,  by  saying  that  there  is  no 
market  price,  or  that  every  man  is  bound  to  look 
out  for  himself,  or  that  the  purchaser  was  not 
obliged  to  buy.  The  guilt  of  fraud  is  upon  the 
seller,  because  he  was  anxious  to  have  it  under- 
stood, that  it  is  his  rule  to  sell  at  the  market  price, 
and  because  he  refused  to  fulfill  an  expectation 
which  he  created. 

A  man  deals  fraudulently,  who  induces  others  to 
purchase  by  appealing  to  their  hopes,  fears  or  av- 
arice. "  This  rule  is  violated  when,  in  dealings 
on  the  exchange,  false  information  is  circulated  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  or  depressing  the  price  of 
stocks.  It  is  violated  by  speculators,  who  monop- 
olize an  article  to  create  a  scarcity,  and  thus  raise 
the  price  while  the  supply  is  abundant.  The  case 
is  the  same  when  a  salesman  looks  upon  a  stranger 
who  enters  his  store,  and  deliberately  calculates 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  153 

how  he  shall  best  influence,  and  excite,  and  mis- 
lead his  mind,  so  as  to  sell  the  greatest  amount  of 
goods  at  the  most  exorbitant  profit."  * 

Again,  a  man  is  guilty  of  fraud,  who  conceals 
any  defect,  fault  or  blemish  in  an  article  which  he 
sells.  When  any  article  is  offered  for  sale,  the 
presumption  is  that  it  is  sound,  or  free  from  de- 
fects. This  is  always  the  presumption,  unless  it 
is  known,  that  the  seller  does  not  guaranty  its 
soundness.  Whenever,  therefore,  an  article  is 
sold,  under  an  expressed  or  implied  guaranty  that 
it  is  perfect,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  seller 
knows  and  conceals  any  defect  in  it,  he  is  mani- 
festly guilty  of  fraud.  How  often  are  horses  and 
cattle  sold  when  their  defects  are  carefully  con- 
cealed ;  and  wines  and  liquors  adulterated  and 
sold  as  genuine  ;  and  legal  weight  and  measure 
curtailed.  These,  and  many  similar  frauds  are 
practiced  to  a  wide  and  fearful  extent,  and  prac- 
ticed too  by  men,  who  claim  to  be  strictly  honest. 
But,  tested  by  the  moral  law,  these  practices  are 
found  to  be  egregiously  sinful.  Is  not  such  mo- 
rality utterly  insufficient  to  save  the  soul  ? 

But  these  remarks,  which  have  been  made  re- 

*  Wayland's  Elements  of  Moral  Science ;  a  work,  from 
which  a  few  of  the  principles  in  this  part  of  the  lecture  are 
taken. 

11 


154  MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

specting  the  seller,  are  equally  applicable  to  the 
buyer.  Both  parties  are  equally  bound,  by  the 
law  of  reciprocity,  to  the  strictest  integrity  in  their 
pecuniary  transactions.  If  the  buyer  uses  any 
unfair  means  to  obtain  an  article  for  less  than  its 
real  value — if  he  is  unwilling  to  give  the  market 
price,  he  is  clearly  guilty  of  fraudulent  dealing. 
He  does  not  give  an  equivalent  for  the  article 
purchased.  The  law  of  morality  lays  under  deep 
condemnation  the  whole  business,  however  com- 
mon it  may  be,  of  depreciating  articles  which  we 
wish  to  purchase,  of  beating  down  and  cheapening 
their  price.  Such  are  the  customs  of  society,  that, 
nearly  every  man,  who  has  anything  to  sell,  has  a 
number  of  prices  for  his  article,  and  the  buyer 
deems  it  right  to  cheapen  it  to  the  lowest  possible 
point.  All  this  is  done  every  day  by  men  who 
profess  to  be  moral,  and  who  are  hoping,  on  the 
strength  of  their  morality,  to  enter  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

The  iniquity  of  these  modes  of  dealing,  with 
respect  to  either  the  buyer  or  the  seller,  is  not,  in 
the  slightest  degree,  mitigated,  by  saying  that  these 
customs  are  universal,  that  they  enter  into  the 
very  framework  and  texture  of  society,  that  no 
business  can  be  conducted  without  them,  that 
every  body  expects  to  deal  in  these  ways,  and 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  155 

that  we  cannot  support  our  families,  if  we  must 
relinquish  such  methods  of  making  a  good  bargain. 
The  question,  in  all  such  cases,  is,  not  what  is 
politic  according  to  the  corrupt  maxims  of  society, 
but  what  is  morally  right.  In  all  ethical  inquiries, 
the  point  to  be  ascertained  is,  what  is  right ;  and 
not  what,  in  a  pecuniary  sense,  is  advantageous. 
With  respect  to  the  customs  adverted  to,  it  is  most 
manifest,  that  the  stamp  of  Jehovah's  disapproba- 
tion is  imprinted  on  them  all.  Such  morality  is 
therefore  utterly  inadequate  to  save  the  soul. 

In  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  Genesis,  is  an 
account  of  Abraham's  purchase  of  the  field  of 
Machpelah,  of  Ephron  the  Hittite.  In  the  whole 
history  of  pecuniary  transactions,  perhaps  there 
cannot  be  found  a  finer  example  of  genuine  polite- 
ness— of  noble  generosity — of  uncorrupted  sim- 
plicity— and  of  unimpeachable  integrity  than  both 
parties  exhibited  in  that  trade.  I  would  earnestly 
recommend  the  frequent  perusal  of  the  account  of 
that  most  honorable  negotiation,  as  an  antidote  to 
the  low  cunning,  and  over-reaching,  and  chicanery 
of  this  trafficking  age. 

2.  The  moral  law  forbids  us  to  injure  the  repu-* 
tation  of  others.  This  rule  is  violated  by  unneces- 
sarily giving  publicity  to  their  bad  actions.  If  I 
know  that  my  neighbor  has  acted  dishonestly,  I 


156  MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

am  not  therefore  at  liberty  to  speak  of  it,  unless 
the  law  of  benevolence  to  individuals  or  to  society 
requires  it.  Many  seem  to  desire  to  possess  a 
knowledge  of  all  the  bad  actions  of  others,  and  to 
report  them  without  the  least  reserve.  They 
never  seem  so  much  in  their  element,  as  when 
they  are  industriously  engaged  in  collecting  and 
spreading  such  intelligence.  Whether  this  dispo- 
sition arises  from  a  desire  to  gratify  the  malice  of 
the  heart,  or  to  be  thought  to  possess  greater 
knowledge  or  greater  virtue  than  others,  it  is  man- 
ifestly evil — it  is  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  law — 
"  Thou  shall  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  Few 
sins  are  more  common  or  more  injurious  than 
slander.  "  The  words  of  a  tale-bearer  are  as 
wounds."  "  Where  there  is  no  tale-bearer  the 
strife  ceaseth."  Mark  Antony,  it  has  been  said, 
tamed  lions,  and  drove  them  harnessed  to  his 
chariot  through  the  streets  of  Rome.  Had  he 
tamed  his  own  tongue,  it  had  been  a  greater 
wonder  still.  "  But  the  tongue  can  no  man  tame  ; 
it  is  an  unruly  evil,  full  of  deadly  poison.  It  is  a 
fire,  a  world  of  iniquity,  it  setteth  on  fire  the 
course  of  nature,  and  it  is  set  on  fire  of  hell." 
Can  it  be  possible  that  persons,  who  are  habitually 
given  to  slander,  are  fair  candidates  for  heaven  ? 
Certainly  not. 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  157 

The  law  of  morality  also  forbids  us  to  draw 
general  conclusions  respecting  the  characters  of 
others  from  individual  bad  actions.  A  single  act 
is  rarely  decisive  of  character.  A  single  act  of 
illiberality  does  not  prove  a  man  to  be  covetous. 
A  single  act  of  unkindness  does  not  prove  a  man  a 
monster.  "  How  unjust,  then,  must  it  be,  to  pro- 
claim a  man  as  destitute  of  a  whole  class  of  virtues, 
because  of  one  failure  in  virtue.  How  much  more 
unjust,  for  one  fault,  to  deny  him  all  claim  to  any 
virtue  whatsoever."  * 

Again,  this  law  is  violated  by  imputing  bad 
motives  to  the  actions  of  men.  In  some  cases,  the 
nature  of  the  action  is  such,  that  to  presume  a 
good  motive  is  impossible.  But  the  rule  requires 
us  always  to  presume  a  good  motive  where  the 
action  is  susceptible  of  one,  and  to  assign  no  other 
motive  than  that  from  which  it  professes  to  pro- 
ceed. And  yet,  how  often  does  the  malignity 
of  the  heart  show  itself,  by  indiscriminately 
imputing  bad  motives  to  all  the  wrong  actions 
of  men,  and  even  by  persisting  in  imputing  such 
motives,  after  they  have  been  disclaimed.  You 
do  not  wish  others  to  impute  unworthy  motives 
to  you,  and  "  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 

*  Elements  of  Moral  Science. 


158      MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  ; 
for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 

Applying  the  principles  of  the  moral  law  to  the 
conversation  of  mankind,  we  see  that  no  small  part 
of  it  is  laid  under  the  ban  of  its  terrible  condemna- 
tion. No  man,  who  is  habitually  guilty  of  the 
practices  above-mentioned,  can  safely  regard  him- 
self as  a  candidate  for  heaven. 

3.  The  moral  law  requires  of  us  veracity,  or  a 
strict  regard  to  truth.  "  Thou  shall  not  bear 
false  witness  against  thy  neighbor."  "  Lying  lips 
are  an  abomination  to  the  Lord."  "All  liars  shall 
have  their  part  in  the  lake,  that  burns  with  fire 
and  brimstone." 

The  law  of  veracity  is  therefore  violated  when 
we  utter  as  truth,  what  we  know  to  be  false.  This 
is  the  boldest  form  in  which  the  law  of  veracity  is 
broken,  and  yet  it  is  often  exhibited  by  men,  who 
would  highly  resent  it,  if  they  were  told  that  their 
word  cannot  be  depended  on,  and  who  are  trusting 
in  their  morality  for  eternal  life.  To  save  their 
reputation,  or  to  make  money,  they  will  unblush- 
ingly  tell  the  most  deliberate  falsehoods.  They 
will  positively  assert  that  to  be  true,  which  they 
know  to  be  false,  in  the  hope  of  relieving  them- 
selves of  some  foul  imputation,  or  of  disposing 
of  some  article,  which  they  are  anxious  to  sell,  or 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  159 

of  obtaining  one,  which  they  very  much  want. 
The  simple  statement  of  this  practice  is  sufficient 
to  show  its  odiousness  in  the  sight  of  a  holy  God, 
and  to  demonstrate  the  entire  unsoundness  of  that 
man's  hopes,  who,  while  he  is  guilty  of  it,  is  reck- 
oning on  his  moral  life  as  the  ground  of  his  admis- 
sion into  heaven. 

Another  frequent  breach  of  the  law  of  veracity 
consists  in  uttering  the  truth  in  such  a  way,  as 
conveys  a  false  impression.  This  is  done  by  ex- 
aggerating, or  by  extenuating  the  facts  in  the  case. 
Doubtless  this  is  not  unfrequently  done  in  courts 
of  justice.  Under  all  the  solemnities  of  an  oath, 
such  a  gloss  or  coloring  is  sometimes  given  to  the 
facts  in  the  case,  as  conveys  a  false  impression  to 
the  minds  of  the  court  and  jury.  In  common  con- 
versation too,  facts  are  often  stated  in  such  a 
hyperbolical  way,  that  incorrect  impressions  are  fre- 
quently communicated.  This  is  a  very  customary 
mode  of  speech ;  and  yet  it  contains  most  of  the 
elements  and  guilt  of  more  open  falsehood,  for  no 
man  knows  exactly  how  many  grains  of  allowance 
to  make  to  the  habit  of  dealing  in  hyperbole,  and, 
of  course,  his  mind  may  be  very  injuriously  influ- 
enced. The  law  of  veracity  requires,  in  all  cases, 
the  most  simple,  upright,  unvarnished  statement 
of  facts.  The  customs,  just  adverted  to,  are  evi- 


160      MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

dent  violations  of  this  law,  and,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  are  stamped  with  deeper  iniquity  than  is 
generally  imagined.  Habitual  indulgence  in  them 
must  prejudice  every  title  to  heaven. 

4.  The  scriptural  rule  of  morality  requires  the 
strictest  chastity.  There  are  certain  offences 
against  the  law  of  chastity,  which,  though  they  are* 
not  unfrequently  practiced  and  connived  at,  are 
nevertheless  real  violations  of  the  seventh  com- 
mandment. Of  this  description,  is  the  indulgence 
of  impure  imaginations.  Jesus  Christ,  the  Great 
Expounder  of  the  moral  law,  has  decided,  that 
"  whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her, 
hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his 
heart."  An  impure  look  is  therefore  a  gross  vio- 
lation of  the  divine  law,  and,  unrepented  of,  will 
prevent  the  salvation  of  the  mental  adulterer. 

Of  the  same  description,  are  all  indulgencies  in 
lascivious  conversation — the  reading  of  obscene 
books — self-pollution — and  the  tempting  of  others 
to  lewdness.  I  refrain  from  pursuing  this  topic 
further,  and  leave  it  to  every  person's  conscience 
to  decide,  to  what  extent  he  is  guilty  of  violating 
the  law  of  chastity.  Let  every  youth  tremble, 
lest,  at  the  great  day  of  trial,  he  be  found  guilty 
of  sins,  of  which  "  it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak ;  " 
and  be  consigned,  with  the  multitude  of  the 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  161 

polluted,  "  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt." 
"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they,"  and 
they  only,  "  shall  see  God." 

5.  The  scriptural  law  of  morality  requires  the 
strictest  temperance.  Such  is  the  intoxicating  and 
poisonous  nature  of  all  alcoholic  mixtures,  as 
proved  by  chemical  analysis  and  experience,  that 
any  use  of  them  whatever,  as  a  beverage,  is  now 
known  to  be  highly  injurious  to  the  bodies  and  the 
souls  of  men.  The  importation,  manufacture, 
vending  and  drinking  of  intoxicating  liquors  have, 
after  the  most  mature  examination,  been  pro- 
nounced to  be  immoralities  by  nearly  all  the  tem- 
perance societies  throughout  Christendom,  by  a 
large  and  most  respectable  part  of  the  medical 
faculty,  and  by  numerous  ecclesiastical  bodies  of 
various  religious  denominations  in  different  and 
distant  parts  of  the  world.  This  decision  of  en- 
lightened and  widely  extended  public  sentiment  is 
sustained  and  corroborated  by  the  word  of  God. 
It  must  therefore  be  regarded  as  immoral  for  any 
man,  with  all  this  light  on  the  subject,  to  continue 
any  longer  in  the  importation,  manufacture,  sale 
or  consumption  of  alcoholic  liquors  as  a  drink. 
The  immediate  relinquishment  of  these  several 
employments  is  imperatively  demanded  by  the 
law  of  morality.  Continuance  in  them,  after  they 


162      MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

are  known  to  be  of  immoral  tendency,  is  heinously 
sinful.  "  To  him  that  knovveth  to  do  good,  and 
doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin."  If,  therefore,  it  be 
immoral  to  continue,  in  any  of  these  ways,  to  pro- 
mote intemperance,  and  if  strict  morality  is  an 
indispensable  prerequisite  to  entrance  upon  the 
perfect  purity  of  the  celestial  state,  in  what  a  fear- 
ful position  are  all  importers,  manufacturers,  vend- 
ers and  drinkers  of  intoxicating  liquors  placed  ! 
Who  would  be  willing  to  put  his  soul  in  their  soul's 
stead  ?  Who  is  willing  to  take  the  risk  they  are 
incurring,  of  drinking  forever  "the  wine  of  the 
fierceness  of  the  wrath  "  of  Almighty  God,  "  pour- 
ed out  without  mixture  into  the  cup  of  his  indig- 
nation ?  " 

Such  are  some  of  the  offences  against  the  law 
of  God,  of  which  multitudes  are  guilty,  who  claim 
to  lead  a  life  of  irreproachable  morality,  and  who 
regard  such  a  life  as  a  sure  passport  to  heaven.  It 
is  overwhelming  to  think,  on  what  precarious 
grounds  they  are  building  their  immortal  hopes. 
From  the  slight  examination  which  has  now  been 
given  of  the  subject,  it  is  palpable  as  the  sun  in 
heaven,  that  the  strictest  morality  of  the  world  is 
utterly  insufficient  to  save  men.  There  are  three 
reasons  why  it  is  insufficient. 

1.  It  is  deficient  in  extent.     The  reason  why 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  163 

many  suppose  themselves  to  be  strictly  moral  is, 
because  they  measure  themselves  by  some  other 
standard  than  the  law  of  God.  That  law  takes 
cognizance  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  of  the  outward 
act ;  and,  according  to  its  irreversible  decision, 
every  impure  look  is  adultery,  and  every  emotion 
of  anger  towards  our  fellow  men  is  murder.  Now, 
can  the  most  self-complacent  moralist  lay  his  hand 
on  his  heart  and  say,  that  he  never  entertained 
one  impure  or  angry  feeling  ?  This,  no  man  can 
say  with  truth.  If  not,  his  morality,  as  the  ground 
of  his  justification,  is  worthless  in  the  sight  of  a 
holy  God.  He  that  offends  in  but  one  point,  is 
guilty  of  all.  One  breach  of  the  law  shows  as 
conclusively  the  principle  of  contempt  in  the 
heart,  aims  as  deadly  a  blow  at  the  authority  of 
the  Lawgiver,  and  is  as  utterly  irremediable  by  the 
offender,  as  a  thousand  offences.  The  best  mo- 
rality of  the  worldling  is  therefore  utterly  defective 
in  extent.  It  is  not  a  compliance  with  all  the 
obligations  imposed  by  the  moral  law. 

But  this  is  not  the  worst  view  of  the  case.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  he  stands  guilty,  not  merely  of 
one  violation  of  the  law,  nor  even  of  a  few — but 
of  more  violations  of  it  than  there  are  hairs  on  his 
head,  or  stars  in  the  canopy  of  night.  Nor  is  this 
mere  conjecture  or  assertion  ;  but  according  to  the 


164      MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

Bible,  it  is  plain,  palpable,  undeniable  truth. 
"  Who  then  can .  be  saved  ?  "  Not  one,  on  the 
ground  of  perfect  compliance  with  the  law  of  God. 
Probably  the  young  man,  whose  history  is  the 
basis  of  this  lecture,  was  as  scrupulously  moral  as 
any  of  you  can  claim  to  be,  and  yet  he  went  away 
from  Jesus  sorrowful,  when  the  deficiencies  of  his 
morality  were  exposed.  You,  too,  may  belong  to 
the  "  straitest  sect "  of  mere  moralists — your  char- 
acter in  the  estimation  of  the  world,  may  be  unim- 
peachable, while,  in  the  estimate  of  the  law  of 
God,  you  are  deeply  defective  and  corrupt.  That 
law  addresses  each  of  you,  who  is  depending  on  his 
morality  for  salvation,  in  these  searching  terms — 
"  One  thing  thou  lackest ;  " — "  TEKEL,  thou  art 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting." 

2.  Mere  worldly  morality  is  defective  in  prin- 
ciple. Inadequate  as  it  is  in  degree,  it  is  much 
more  seriously  defective  in  motive.  It  is  supremely 
selfish.  Unexceptionable  as  your  conduct  often  is, 
its  supposed  justificative  power  may  be  entirely 
vitiated  by  the  impurity  of  the  motive  from  which 
it  springs.  Let  me  illustrate  this  point  by  an  ex- 
ample. 

A  merchant  in  New  York  or  Boston,  invests  all 
and  more  than  all  his  property  in  certain  articles 
of  merchandise,  sends  them  to  the  East  Indies, 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  165 

and  consigns  them  to  the  care  of  an  agent  or 
factor  whom  he  has  never  seen,  and  who  is  actu- 
ated by  the  principles  which  generally  regulate 
commercial  intercourse.  That  agent  exchanges 
the  articles  for  such  as  the  merchant  ordered,  the 
return  cargo  arrives  in  safety,  and  the  merchant 
finds  that  he  has  made  fifty  thousand  dollars  by  the 
voyage.  And  all  because  that  factor  was  an  honest 
man ;  and  though  the  merchant  had  never  seen 
him,  and  though  the  diameter  of  the  globe  was 
between  them,  yet  he  dealt  fairly  and  uprightly 
by  the  consigner.  Now,  the  point  is,  why  was 
he  honest  ?  He  may  have  been  honest  from  a 
holy  regard  to  the  law  of  God  ;  or,  he  may  have 
been  honest  from  a  natural  regard  to  what  is  hon- 
orable in  commercial  transactions ;  or,  he  may 
have  been  honest  from  the  mere  force  of  educa- 
tion ;  or,  he  may  have  been  honest  from  a  direct 
regard  to  his  own  interest.  If  he  had  been  dis- 
honest, it  would  have  injured  his  character,  and 
the  consequence  would  be,  that  merchants  will 
cease  to  consign  goods  to  his  care,  his  business  will 
thus  leave  him,  and  he  will  be  ruined.  All  the 
motives  to  integrity  above-mentioned,  except  the 
first,  may  operate,  and  often  do  operate  in  men 
who  blaspheme  the  name,  or  even  deny  the  very 
existence  of  God.  Now,  if  the  integrity  of  the 


166  MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

factor  flowed  from  any  other  motive  than  a  su- 
preme regard  to  the  divine  law,  it  was  utterly 
unsound  in  principle. 

Much  of  the  morality  we  see  around  us  every 
day  is  equally  defective.  Some  are  honest ;  others 
are  restrained  from  licentious  practices  j  a  third 
class  abandon  the  use  of  ardent  spirits ;  a  fourth 
relinquish  profane  swearing ;  a  fifth  the  habit  of 
gambling  ;  and  a  sixth,  Sabbath-breaking,  through 
the  influence  of  these  vicious  motives.  The 
leaven  of  selfishness  impregnates  and  vitiates  them 
all.  Indeed,  there  is  nothing  which  is  virtuous 
but  may  be  performed,  and  very  often  is  performed 
under  the  influence  of  no  higher,  purer  motive 
than  a  mere  regard  to  one's  own  interest.  This  is 
the  fountain-head,  from  which  issue  all  the  streams 
of  worldly  morality.  Such  morality  is  therefore 
totally  unsound  in  principle  ;  and  all,  who  at  death 
rely  upon  it  for  salvation,  will  find  that  they  have 
built  on  the  sand,  and  tremendous  will  be  the  de- 
struction of  their  hopes. 

3.  The  strictest  morality  of  the  world  is  insuffi- 
cient to  save,  because  it  does  not  amount  to  a 
change  of  the  heart.  "  Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  The 
morality  of  the  young  man  in  the  gospel  was,  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  of  this  world,  without  a 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  167 

blemish;  but  "except  your  righteousness  exceed 
the  righteousness  "  of  that  amiable,  upright  youth, 
"  you  can,  in  no  case,  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  Moral  as  he  was,  he  was  not  regener- 
ate ;  and,  rather  than'  transfer  his  supreme  affec- 
tions from  his  possessions  to  Christ,  "  he  went  away- 
sorrowful  "  and  we  hear  of  him  no  more. 

Your  morals,  too,  may  be  much  purer  than  the 
average  morality  which  exists  around  you  ;  you 
may  be  amiable,  and  temperate,  and  veracious — 
you  may  be  punctual  in  meeting  your  pecuniary 
engagements — you  may  be  upright  in  buying  and 
selling — you  may  possess,  in  a  very  high  degree, 
the  mercantile  virtues — and  your  "  eye,  even 
turned  on  empty  space,  may  beam  keen  with 
honor;"  and  yet  you  need  something  more,  you 
need  much  more,  you  need  a  renovation  of  the 
heart.  Youth  and  others,  whose  moral  habits  are 
generally  correct,  are  extremely  prone  to  depend 
on  them  for  salvation  ;  but  never  was  dependence 
more  misplaced  or  more  dangerous.  You  would  not 
think  of  erecting  a  dwelling-house  for  yourself  on 
the  waves  of  the  Atlantic,  but  such  folly  would  be 
wisdom,  compared  with  building  a  hope  of  heaven 
on  your  moral  life.  This  is  the  danger  to  which 
you  are  pre-eminently  exposed.  You  may  deem 
yourselves  quite  safe,  because  your  general  charac- 


168     MORALITY  NECESSARY,  BUT 

ter  for  morals  so  often  receives  the  meed  of  praise. 
I  shall  be  the  last  to  call  in  question  the  correctness 
of  your  habits  according  to  the  common  judgment 
of  mankind,  but  fidelity  to  your  immortal  interests 
requires  me  to  say,  that,  according  to  the  law  of 
God,  you  all  stand  guilty  of  soul-destroying  immo- 
ralities. Your  vaunted  morals,  are  seriously  defi- 
cient in  extent,  defective  in  principle,  and  inade- 
quate as  a  substitute  for  a  renovation  of  the  heart. 
There  is  within  you  hostility  to  God,  which  the 
most  beautiful  exterior  can  never  hide  from  his 
sight — which  no  self-flattery  can  charm  into  love 
— and  which  can  never  be  satisfied  while  he  is  on 
the  throne.  That  hostility  must  be  annihilated  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  repented  of  by  yourselves,  or 
your  salvation  is  hopeless. 

My  young  friends,  let  your  whole  solicitude  be 
concentrated  on  this  point.  You  probably  have 
serious  moments,  when  your  hopes,  built  on  your 
fancied  goodness,  totter,  like  the  most  stable  edi- 
fices by  the  rockings  of  an  earthquake.  You 
shudder,  as  if  the  bottomless  pit  were  opening  her 
mouth  to  receive  you.  Yield  yourselves  up  to  the 
influence  of  such  impressions.  Feel  your  need  of  an 
entire  transformation  of  your  moral  temper.  You 
are  guilty.  You  need  an  Almighty  Saviour.  You 
need  to  be  washed  in  his  blood.  You  need  a 


INSUFFICIENT  TO  SALVATION.  169 

heart  of  supreme  attachment  to  his  person   and 
his  cause. 


"  Talk  they  of  morals  ?    O  thou  Bleeding  Love, 
Thou  maker  of  new  morals  to  mankind, 
The  grand  morality  is  LOVE  OF  THEE." 


12 


LECTURE   VII. 

PERSONAL    PIETY. 

PROYERBS  zxm.  26. — My  son,  give  me  thy  heart. 

IN  the  last  lecture,  it  was,  I  trust,  conclusively 
shown,  that  the  strictest  morality  of  the  world  is 
insufficient  to  salvation.  The  conclusion  to  which 
we  were  then  conducted  was,  that  an  entire  ren- 
ovation of  the  heart  is  an  indispensable  prerequisite 
to  entrance  into  life.  The  vast  importance  of  this 
last  topic  demands  your  most  serious  consideration. 
Wisdom,  personating  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  pre- 
sents it  distinctly  before  you  all  as  individuals ; — 
"  My  son,  give  me  thy  heart." 

It  is  a  matter  of  devout  satisfaction,  that  I  ad- 
dress not  a  few,  who  have  already  "  given  their 
hearts  "  to  the  Redeemer.  Their  views  of  them- 
selves, of  God,  of  his  government,  his  law,  his 
gospel,  and  of  "  the  chief  end  of  man  "  are  so 
altered  as  to  prove,  that  the  "  eyes  of  their  under- 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  171 

standings "  have  been  "  enlightened,"  and  that 
they  are  "  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  their  minds." 
All  I  have,  at  present,  to  say  to  this  class  of  youth 
is  ; — Resolve  to  make  the  highest  possible  attain- 
ment in  piety.  Do  all  you  can  to  bring  others  to 
an  experimental  acquaintance  with  Jesus  Christ. 
Be  faithful  unto  death,  and  you  will  receive  crowns 
of  life. 

This  lecture  will  be  addressed  more  particularly 
to  those  youth,  who  have  not  yet  complied  with 
the  injunction  of  wisdom,  and  who  have  never 
contemplated  the  subject  of  practical  piety  but  at 
a  distance,  and  in  the  "  dry  light  "  of  worldly 
prosperity. 

In  soliciting  your  attention  to  the  subject  of 
personal,  vital  religion,  we  are  met  at  the  outset 
by  certain  obstacles,  which,  I  fear,  will  defeat  all 
efforts  to  bring  it  near  your  hearts.  It  is  a  subject, 
of  which  multitudes  have  no  definite  conceptions. 
All  the  idea  they  have  of  religion  is,  that  it  is 
something  external,  or  something  speculative.  To 
talk  about  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul,  to  describe 
the  emotions  of  experimental  piety,  is  to  use  lan- 
guage which  is  quite  unmeaning.  As  it  regards 
conveying  any  definite  conceptions  to  their  minds, 
we  may  nearly  as  well  speak  in  an  "  unknown 
tongue."  Language,  in  this  case,  is  not  a  vehicle 
of  thought. 


172  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

Before  we  enter  upon  the  general  subject  before 
us,  it  may  be  well,  therefore,  to  point  out  the  main 
obstacles  to  a  clear  understanding  of  it.  If  we 
cannot  convey  to  the  minds  of  the  benighted  and 
ruined,  a  clear  idea  of  their  disease  and  of  its  rem- 
edy, we  may  perhaps  convince  them  that  they  are 
diseased.  If  we  cannot  "  pour  eyesight  "  on  their 
eyes,  it  is  possible  that  we  may  convince  them 
that  they  are  blind. 

J .  One  obstacle,  which  prevents  the  sinner  from 
perceiving  the  nature  and  importance  of  personal 
piety,  is  an  habitual  reliance  on  his  morality. 
The  moral  youth  trusts  in  his  amiable  temper,  his 
kind,  sympathetic,  generous  disposition,  and  in 
his  freedom  from  open  vice,  and  then  asks,  "  Is 
not  this  religion  ? "  His  eye  has  been  so  long 
placed  on  these  praiseworthy  qualities,  and  they 
have  become  so  magnified  by  habitual  contempla- 
tion, that  it  is  impossible  by  human  strength  to 
divert  his  attention  from  them  as  a  ground  of  hope. 
This  is  the  only  basis  on  which  he  is  accustomed 
to  rest.  To  dislodge  him  from  this  position, 
would  be  to  wreck  all  his  hopes  of  heaven,  and 
leave  him — he  knows  not  where.  Tell  him  that 
religion  consists  in  loving  and  in  serving  God,  and 
such  is  his  want  of  sight  that  he  supposes  he  has 
been  doing  this  all  his  life.  Try  to  explain  to 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  173 

him  what  it  is  to  love  God,  but  it  is  all  unintelligi- 
ble. Put  in  requisition  all  human  ingenuity  and 
skill  to  convey  to  his  mind  the  simple  idea  of 
holiness  of  heart,  but  he  obtains  no  distinct  view 
of  anything  beyond  an  irreproachable  morality. 
He  reverts  to  that  as  invariably  as  the  needle 
points  to  the  pole.  But 

2.  The  principal  impediment  to  a  clear  under- 
standing of  the  nature  of  experimental  religion,  is 
an  obtuseness  of  the  moral  perceptions.  "  Light 
has  come  into  the  world,  but  men  love  darkness 
rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil." 
"  The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  ;  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him ; 
neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spir- 
itually discerned."  There  is  a  difficulty,  then,  in 
understanding  the  nature  of  vital  piety,  arising 
from  the  blinding  influence  of  sin.  There  is  light 
enough — it  is  poured  around  men  with  noontide 
effulgence,  but  it  is  in  vain  because  there  is  no 
spiritual  perception.  The  blind  man  walks  abroad 
amid  the  dazzling  splendors  of  the  meridian  sun, 
but  all  is  dark  to  him  as  midnight,  because  he  has 
not  the  organs  of  vision.  The  impenitent  sinner 
labors  under  a  similar  difficulty  in  a  moral  sense. 
The  only  difference  is,  in  the  first  case,  the  diffi- 
culty is  a  physical  one,  and  one,  over  which  the 


174  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

blind  man  has  no  control;  in  the  other,  it  is  purely 
a  voluntary  one,  and  is  pertinaciously  cherished. 
Sinners  "  have  eyes,  but  they  see  not,  ears  have 
they,  but  they  hear  not,  neither  do  they  under- 
stand." We  may  display  before  them  the  living 
beauties  of  Christianity,  and  they  see  in  them 
neither  form  nor  comeliness.  We  may  strike  the 
notes  of  David's  lyre,  and  no  holy  thrills  are  felt 
within.  We  may  prove,  with  the  demonstration 
of  Paul,  the  great  reality  of  communion  with  God, 
but  the  argument  does  not  compel  the  credence  of 
the  heart.  Now  this  GREAT  FACT  in  every  sinner's 
moral  condition,  is  one  which  should  fill  him  with 
alarm.  Is  he  walking  thoughtlessly  on  the  edge 
of  a  precipice  ?  Yes.  Does  he  see  his  danger  ? 
But  very  dimly.  Is  he  liable  every  moment  to 
sink  into  the  pit,  which  burns  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone ?  He  is.  Does  he  see  his  exposure  ? 
Scarcely  at  all.  There  is  such  an  obtuseness  of 
moral  perception,  that  sights,  which  make  devils 
tremble,  awaken  but  little  if  any  concern. 

This  obtuseness  of  moral  vision  is  created  by 
the  unholy  state  of  the  affections.  There  is  in  the 
heart,  not  only  no  predisposition  to  understand  the 
nature  and  admit  the  claims  of  vital  religion,  but  an 
inveterate  aversion  to  them. 

A  right  state  of  the  affections,  is  therefore  of 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  175 

the  very  first  importance,  as  it  regards  a  proper 
appreciation  of  divine  things.  Christianity  requires 
"  experimental  conditions  for  the  apprehension  of 
its  truth  and  evidence.  Here,  knowledge  and 
insight  are  conditioned  by  the  moral  and  practical 
state  of  the  percipient.  Christianity  is  a  remedy 
for  a  diseased  spiritual  state,  and  must  be  taken 
before  its  efficacy  can  be  truly  seen  and  known." i 
A  practical  trial  of  Christianity  is  therefore  indis- 
pensable to  all  satisfying  insight  of  its  nature.  But, 
in  the  impenitent  sinner's  mind,  the  element  of 
connection  with  holiness  does  not  exist.  In  the 
language  of  the  profound  Pascal,  "  God  alone  can 
connect  divine  things  with  the  soul.  It  is  His 
ordination  that  they  should  enter  from  the  heart 
into  the  mind,  and  not  from  the  mind  into  the 
heart.  Hence,  while  in  order  to  love  human 
things  they  must  be  known,  we  must  love  divine 
things  in  order  to  know  them."  In  like  manner 
St.  Anselm  observes,  "  I  do  not  seek  to  under- 
stand in  order  that  I  may  believe,  but  I  believe  in 
order  that  I  may  understand.  For  he  who  has 
not  believed,  cannot  have  experienced,  and  he 
who  has  not  experienced,  cannot  understand." 
This  doubtless  sounds  strange  and  mystical  to 
many  minds,  but  Christ  taught  the  same  truth 
*  Literary  and  Theological  Review,  Vol.  I.  No.  III. 


176  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

when  he  said,  "  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine."  "  Whosoever  shall 
not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child, 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein." 

The  only  way  then  to  understand  the  nature  of 
vital  religion  is  to  embrace  it.  It  must  be  a  matter, 
not  of  speculation,  but  of  actual  experience.  Our 
knowledge  of  the  natural  world  even  is  principally 
gained  by  experiment.  All  the  discoveries  in 
chemistry  and  natural  philosophy  are  the  results 
of  experiment.  In  like  manner,  if  you  would  un- 
derstand what  genuine  piety  is,  you  must  give  it 
the  trial  of  inward  experiment,  by  giving  your 
whole  heart  to  God.  Love  God — love  God,  and 
then  you  will  understand.  Then,  the  "  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  his  glory  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ "  will  shine  upon  you  in  full-orbed  splen- 
dors ;  and  though  the  light  of  the  moon  should  be 
as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun 
seven  fold,  yet  the  light  of  GOD'S  COUNTENANCE 
will  eclipse  the  whole. 

Do  you  not  then  feel  that  you  need  something 
more  to  save  you  than  you  have  yet  experienced  ? 
Have  you  never  met  with  some  Christians,  whose 
heavenly  conversation,  whose  holy  joys  and  sor- 
rows, whose  lively  hopes  and  anticipations,  whose 
deadness  to  the  world  and  faith  in  God  told  you, 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  177 

that  they  knew  something  about  religion  beyond 
what  you  have  ever  felt  ?  Say  not  that  they 
were  persons  of  weak  minds,  and  that  their  supe- 
rior experience  was  nothing  but  enthusiasm. 
What  if  it  should  turn  out,  at  the  day  of  judgment, 
that  their  experience  is  the  only  kind  that  can 
save  ?  What  if  it  should  then  appear,  that  their 
peculiar  feelings  were  the  elementary  feelings  of 
heaven,  and  that  the  most  you  have  ever  felt  ab- 
solutely requires  your  consignment  to  hell  ?  What 
if  it  should  then  appear,  that  they  are  right,  and 
you  wrong?  Be  cautious,  then,  in  stigmatizing 
their  experience  as  fanatical.  Having  never  felt 
the  same,  you  are  obviously  unqualified  to  judge. 
Instead  of  flippantly  pronouncing  their  experience 
delusion,  humble  your  own  understandings  and 
hearts  to  a  meek  and  cordial  reception  of  the 
gospel;  embrace  the  Saviour  they  have  embraced; 
experience  what  they  have  experienced  ;  and  I 
might  risk  the  universe,  did  I  possess  it,  on  the 
assertion,  that  you  will  change  your  opinion ;  and 
will  exclaim,  with  the  raptures  of  the  new-born 
soul, — "  If  this  be  delusion,  let  me  be  deluded.  I 
can  well  afford  to  be  called  enthusiastic  myself.  I 
know  in  whom  I  have  believed.  Jesus  is  mine 
and  I  am  His,  and  that  is  enough." 

If  the  conviction   has   fastened  itself  on  your 


178  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

minds,  that,  after  all  your  prepossessions  to  the 
contrary,  vital  religion  may  be  a  reality,  we  are 
prepared  to  proceed  to  a  more  particular  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  itself. 

My  object  is  to  exhibit 

Its  nature, 

Its  necessity,  and 

The  motives  which  should  induce  you  immedi- 
ately to  embrace  it. 

I.  The  nature  of  vital  piety.  "  My  son,  give 
me  thy  heart"  Vital  religion  consists  in  an  entire 
change  of  the  heart.  It  consists  in  giving  the 
affections  supremely  to  God,  and  subordinately  to 
man.  It  is  a  practical  compliance  with  the  requi- 
sitions of  the  moral  law,  "  Thou  shall  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself."  I  know  not  how  I  can  better 
illustrate  the  nature  of  this  great  and  indispensable 
moral  change,  than  by  citing  some  examples.  And 
the  cases  1  will  produce,  shall  be  those  of  persons 
distinguished  for  soundness  of  mind,  and  for  abhor- 
rence of  every  thing  which  is  enthusiastical. 

The  case  of  PRESIDENT  EDWARDS,  a  man  of 
gigantic  intellectual  strength,  admirably  illustrates 
the  nature  of  this  change.  "  From  my  childhood 
up,"  says  he,  "  my  mind  had  been  full  of  objec- 
tions against  the  doctrine  of  God's  sovereignty,  in 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  179 

choosins;  whom  he  would  to  eternal  life,  and  re- 

O  • 

jecting  whom  he  pleased  ;  leaving  them  eternally 
to  perish.  It  used  to  appear  like  a  horrible  doc- 
trine to  me.  But  I  rememher  the  time  very  well, 
when  I  seemed  to  be  convinced  and  fully  satisfied 
as  to  the  sovereignty  of  God,  and  his  justice  in 
thus  eternally  disposing  of  men,  according  to  his 
sovereign  pleasure. 

"  The  first  instance  that  I  remember  of  that 
sort  of  inward  sweet  delight  in  God  and  divine 
things  that  I  have  lived  much  in  since,  was  on 
reading  these  words,  '  Now  unto  the  King  eternal, 
immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God,  be  honor 
and  glory  forever  and  ever,  AmenS  As  I  read 
these  words,  there  came  into  my  soul,  and  was  as 
it  were  diffused  through  it,  a  sense  of  the  GLORY 
of  the  Divine  Being  ;  a  new  sense,  quite  different 
from  any  thing  I  ever  experienced  before.  The 
sense  I  had  of  divine  things  would  often)  of  a  sud- 
den, kindle  up,  as  it  were,  a  sweet  burning  in  my 
heart ;  an  ardor  of  soul,  that  I  know  not  how  to 
express.  After  this,  my  sense  of  divine  things 
gradually  increased,  and  became  more  and  more 
lively,  and  had  more  of  that  inward  sweetness. 
The  appearance  of  every  thing  was  altered.  God's 
excellency,  his  wisdom,  his  purity  and  love  seemed 
to  appear  in  everything  ;  in  the  sun,  moon,  and 


180  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

stars ;  in  the  clouds  and  blue  sky ;  in  the  grass, 
flowers,  trees  ;  in  the  water  and  all  nature.  I 
spent  most  of  my  time  in  thinking  of  divine  things, 
year  after  year ;  often  walking  alone  in  the  woods 
and  solitary  places  for  meditation,  prayer  and  con- 
verse with  God." 

Take  the  case  of  COWPER,  the  poet.  Describ- 
ing the  change  in  his  mind,  he  remarks,  "  I  found 
the  cloud  of  horror,  which  had  so  long  hung  over 
me,  was  every  moment  passing  away  ;  and  every 
moment  came  fraught  with  hope.  The  happy 
period,  which  was  to  shake  off  my  fetters,  and 
afford  me  a  clear  opening  of  the  free  mercy  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus,  was  now  arrived.  I  flung 
myself  into  a  chair  near  the  window,  and  seeing  a 
Bible  there,  ventured  once  more  to  apply  to  it  for 
comfort  and  instruction.  The  first  verse  I  saw 
was  the  25th  of  the  third  chapter  of  Romans ; — 
(  Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteous- 
ness for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through 
the  forbearance  of  God.''  Immediately  I  received 
strength  to  believe,  and  the  full  beams  of  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  shone  upon  me.  I  perceived 
the  sufficiency  of  the  atonement  he  had  made,  my 
pardon  sealed  in  his  blood,  and  all  the  fullness  and 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  181 

completeness  of  his  justification.     In  a  moment  I 
believed  and  received  the  gospel. 

"  Unless  the  Almighty  arm  had  been  under  me, 
I  think  I  should  have  died  with  gratitude  and  joy. 
My  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  my  voice  choked 
with  transport.  1  could  only  look  up  to  heaven 
in  silent  fear,  overwhelmed  with  love  and  wonder. 
To  rejoice  day  and  night  was  all  my  employment. 
Too  happy  to  sleep  much,  I  thought  it  was  but 
lost  time  that  was  spent  in  slumber." 

ANDREW  FULLER,  in  his  youth,  had  frequent 
convictions  of  sin.  "  One  morning,"  says  he,  "  I 
think  in  November,  1769,  I  walked  out  by  myself 
with  an  unusual  load  of  guilt  upon  my  conscience. 
The  remembrance  of  my  sin,  the  breach  of  my 
vows,  and  the  shocking  termination  of  my  former 
hopes  and  affections,  all  uniting  together,  formed 
a  burden  which  I  knew  not  how  to  bear.  The 
reproaches  of  a  guilty  conscience  seemed  like  the 
gnawing  worm  of  hell.  I  do  not  write  the  lan- 
guage of  exaggeration.  I  now  know  that  the 
sense  I  then  had  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  of  the 
wrath  of  God,  was  very  far  short  of  the  truth  j 
but  yet  it  seemed  more  than  I  was  able  to  sustain. 
I  saw  that  God  would  be  perfectly  just  in  sending 
me  to  hell,  and  that  to  hell  I  must  go,  unless  I 
were  saved  of  mere  grace,  and  as  it  were  in  spite 


182  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

of  myself.  In  this  state  of  mind,  I  thought  of  the 
resolution  of  Job,  '  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I 
trust  in  him.'  I  paused,  and  repeated  the  words 
over  and  over.  Each  repetition  seemed  to  kindle 
a  ray  of  hope,  mixed  with  a  determination,  if  I 
might,  to  cast  my  perishing  soul  upon  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  for  salvation,  to  be  both  pardoned 
and  purified.  I  now  found  rest  to  my  troubled 
soul." 

"  SAMUEL  J.  MILLS,"  says  his  biographer,  "was 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  characters  America 
has  produced.  When  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
his  attention  was  specially  directed  to  the  great 
concerns  of  his  soul.  For  two  full  years,  he  con- 
tinued in  a  state  of  anxiety,  quarreling  with  the 
sovereignty  of  God,  and  often  wishing  that  he  had 
never  been  born.  One  morning,  as  he  was  about 
to  leave  home,  to  return  to  school  in  a  neighboring 
town,  his  pious  mother  took  an  opportunity  of  in- 
quiring into  the  state  of  his  mind,  and  begged  him 
to  make  an  ingenuous  disclosure  of  his  feelings. 

"  For  a  moment  he  was  silent,  and  wept ;  but 
his  heart  was  too  full  long  to  suppress  the  emotions 
produced  by  so  affecting  a  request.  He  raised 
his  head,  and  with  eyes  streaming  with  tears,  ex- 
claimed, '  O  that  I  had  never  been  born  !  O  that 
I  had  never  been  born  !  For  two  years  I  have 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  183 

been  sorry  God  ever  made  me.'  What  reply 
could  such  a  mother  make  to  such  a  disclosure  ? 
It  was  given  her  in  that  same  hour  what  she  should 
speak  : — '  My  son,'  said  she,  '  you  are  born,  and 
you  can  never  throw  off  your  existence,  nor  your 
everlasting  accountability  for  all  your  conduct.' 
This  heavy  thought  was  like  a  dagger  to  his  soul. 
His  mother  expressed  her  fears  that  he  had  never 
thoroughly  seen  the  evil  of  his  own  heart;  to 
which  he  ventured  to  reply,  '  /  have  seen — to  the 
very  bottom  of  hell.' 

"  With  this  state  of  mind,  he  took  a  melancholy 
leave  of  his  parents  for  the  winter ;  and  it  was  a 
day  never  to  be  forgotten  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Mills, 
nor  in  our  recollection  of  those  splendid  schemes 
of  benevolence,  which  characterized  his  subsequent 
history,  and  to  which  the  events  of  this  day  bore 
so  intimate  a  relation.  What  took  place  under  his 
father's  roof  may  be  easily  conjectured ; — a  scene, 
apparently  of  very  little  moment; — a  scene,  the 
world  would  scarcely  deign  to  look  at,  but  one  on 
which  God  looks  down  with  smiles ; — a  scene  in 
which  no  prince  or  princess  is  the  actor,  but  one 
which  princes  might  come  down  from  their  thrones 
to  emulate, — a  devout  and  humble  woman,  wrest- 
ling with  the  Angel  of  the  covenant,  and  as  a 
prince  obtaining  power  to  prevail ! 


184  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

"  The  farewell  to  his  mother  drove  her  to  her 
knees.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  special  faith  in 
prayer.  It  was  such  to  this  dear  saint,  when  she 
went  to  plead  for  her  poor  son.  She  felt  his  sor- 
rows and  her  own  ;  and  God  was  pleased  to  show 
her  that  all  her  help  was  in  him.  She  did  not 
leave  her  closet,  till  she  found  the  full  relief  she 
sought,  and  till  her  mind  was  confidently  assured 
that  God  would  remember  mercy  for  her  child. 
On  that  very  morning,  it  pleased  the  Holy  Ghost, 
as  she  afterwards  ascertained,  to  knock  off  the 
chains  from  this  unhappy  prisoner,  and  introduce 
him  into  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  He  had 
not  gone  far,  before  he  had  such  a  view  of  the 
perfections  of  God,  that  he  wondered  he  had  never 
seen  their  beauty  and  glory  before.  There  was 
nothing  in  God  now  which  distressed  him.  He 
had  lost  all  his  opposition  to  the  divine  sovereignty, 
and  such  were  his  views  of  this  adorable  perfection, 
that  he  could  not  refrain  from  exclaiming,  '  O  glo- 
rious sovereignty  !  O  glorious  sovereignty  ! '  He 
retired  a  small  distance  into  the  woods,  that  he 
might  be  the  more  at  liberty  to  contemplate  the 
character  of  God,  but  here  he  saw  so  much  of 
God,  that  his  mind  was  almost  lost  in  the  over- 
whelming manifestation.  The  scene  was  alto- 
gether new.  There  was  a  wonderful  change 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  185 

either  in  God,  or  in  him,  and  he  knew  it  was  in 
himself.  Every  thing  was  gilded  with  light  and 
glory ;  and  now  and  then,  as  he  gazed  at  the 
splendor  and  majesty  of  the  divine  character,  he 
would  still  exclaim,  '  O  glorious  sovereignty.' 
Such  is  the  nature  of  genuine  religion." 

I  might  extend  this  list  of  examples  indefinitely; 
but  let  me  now  ask  you,  my  youthful  hearers, 
have  you  ever  experienced  anything  of  the  kind  ? 
I  do  not  ask,  whether  your  experience  has  been  as 
marked  as  those  of  the  individuals  just  mentioned  ; 
but  have  you  had  any  of  their  new  and  delightful 
views  of  God,  and  any  of  their  deep  self-abase- 
ment for  sin  ? 

Let  us  now  consider, 

II.  The  necessity  of  this  great  moral  change. 

I  argue  its  necessity  from  the  elements  of  eternal 
wretchedness  and  ruin,  which  exist  in  your  own 
bosoms.  The  moral  feelings  of  every  unrenewed 
'  sinner  are  utterly  wrong.  They  contain  the  prin- 
ciple of  rebellion  against  God.  This  principle 
may  be  active  or  it  may  be  dormant,  but  whether 
active  or  dormant,  it  truly  exists  in  every  unhum- 
bled  heart.  God  has  only  to  put  you  into  circum- 
stances which  will  powerfully  excite  and  elicit 
your  moral  feelings,  (and  he  can  do  it  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,)  and  that  principle  of  re- 
13 


186  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

bellion  will  assume  a  most  palpable  and  terrible 
activity.  Should  He  take  off  restraint,  and  let 
loose  your  conscience  upon  you,  your  heart  would 
be  hell  in  miniature.  You  would  exclaim  with 
Milton's  fiend  ; — 

"  Me  miserable  !  which  way  shall  I  fly 
Infinite  wrath,  and  infinite  despair  ? 
Which  way  I  fly  is  Hell ;  myself  am  Hell; 
And,  in  the  lowest  deep,  a  lower  deep 
Still  threatening  to  devour  me,  opens  wide." 

The  elements  of  perdition  exist  then  in  every 
unsanctified  heart. 

Now  I  urge  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  your 
hearts  on  the  ground  that  you  are  sentient  beings, 
capable  of  suffering  and  enjoying  beyond  what 
flesh  and  blood  can  sustain.  I  urge  it  on  the 
ground  that  you  are  immortal  beings,  and,  as  such, 
must  suffer  or  enjoy  the  extremes  of  wo  or  bliss 
forever.  I  urge  it  on  the  ground  that  you  are 
accountable  beings,  and  have  no  right  to  destroy 
yourselves.  The  suicide  has  no  right  to  take  his 
own  life  ;  and  you  have  no  right  to  "destroy  both 
soul  and  body  in  hell."  You  pervert  the  great 
end  of  your  creation,  if  you  do  not  become  Chris- 
tians. You  destroy  an  amount  of  happiness  which 
no  created  mind  can  estimate,  if  you  continue  to 
choose  the  way  to  death. 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  187 

I  beseech  you,  then,  to  be  immediately  recon- 
ciled to  God,  by  that  smothered  principle  of  evil 
in  your  own  bosoms,  which,  if  death  should  take 
place,  will  instantly  ignite  and 

"  out-burn  Vesuvius." 

Again,  I  argue  the  necessity  of  a  radical  change 
of  heart  from  the  fact,  that  all  real  Christians 
ascribe  their  hopes  entirely  to  such  a  change  in 
themselves.  There  are  no  real  Christians  between 
the  poles  but  attribute  their  hopes  of  heaven  to  a 
renovation  of  the  heart.  Pious  ancestry,  intellect- 
ual refinement,  baptism,  honesty,  generosity,  kind- 
ness, convictions,  prayers,  tears,  they  feel  to  be 
valueless  as  grounds  of  hope.  They  know  that 
their  feelings  before  regeneration  partook,  in  no 
degree,  of  that  "  holiness,  without  which  no  man 
can  see  the  Lord."  Their  hearts  have  been 
transformed  by  "the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost," 
and  it  is  on  this  ground  only,  that  they  permit 
themselves  to  hope  for  heaven.  Their  deliberate 
judgment,  arising  from  their  own  experience,  is, 
that  no  person  can  safely  hope  for  salvation  who 
has  not  been  born  again. 

Now,  why  will  you  not  believe  their  testimony? 
They  are  credible  witnesses.  You  would  believe 
them  on  any  other  subject.  Why  not  on  this  ? 


188  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

If  actual  experience  of  any  fact  affords  any  advan- 
tages for  judging  and  adds  any  weight  to  judgment, 
then  the  testimony  of  Christians  to  the  necessity 
of  regeneration,  ought,  on  every  principle  of  fair 
reasoning,  to  be  admitted  as  decisive.  "  Marvel 
not,"  then,  "  that  I  say  unto  you,  ye  must  be  born 
again." 

This  necessity  further  appears  from  the  nature 
of  heavenly  happiness.  All  the  happiness  of 
heaven  consists  in  its  holiness.  The  thoughts, 
affections  and  employments  of  all  its  inhabitants 
are  perfectly  holy.  The  honors,  pleasures  and 
emoluments  of  this  world  have  no  existence  there. 
No  glorified  spirit  would  consent  to  lose  a  ray  of 
the  Redeemer's  countenance  for  all  the  fame,  and 
wealth,  and  pleasure  of  this  lower  world. 

Now,  who  does  not  see  the  utter  incompatibility 
of  the  feelings  of  the  unrenewed  heart  with  those 
which  reign  in  heaven  ?  Who  does  not  see  that, 
with  such  a  heart,  heaven  cannot  be  enjoyed  ? 
Indeed,  who  does  not  see  that,  with  such  a  heart, 
heaven  must  be  abhorred  ?  The  element  of  con- 
nection between  the  two  things  does  not  exist ; 
but  on  the  contrary,  there  is  between  them  a  prin- 
ciple of  violent  and  eternal  repellency. 

And  yet,  the  unconverted  sinner  hopes  -to  go  to 
heaven.  He  may  imagine  a  heaven  above  the 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  189 

sky  which  will  suit  the  feelings  of  his  heart;  but  it 
is  as  unlike  the  heaven  of  the  Bible,  as  a  Grecian 
elysium  or  a  Mohammedan  paradise.  The  felicity 
of  a  holy  heaven  can  never  be  enjoyed  by  an 
unholy  heart.  Hence,  the  necessity  of  a  total 
change  in  the  moral  temper  of  the  heart. 

But  Jesus  Christ  has  settled  the  point,  that  this 
change  is  indispensable  to  salvation.  "  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man 
be  born  of  water,  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  "  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as 
little  children,  ye  shall  riot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  "  And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter 
into  it  any  thing  that  defileth,  neither  whatsoever 
worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie  :  but  they 
which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life." 

Here,  then,  I  rest  the  argument  for  the  neces- 
sity of  a  change  of  the  heart.  All  the  experience 
of  men,  in  three  worlds,  proves  it ;  and  He,  who 
hath  the  "  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  de- 
mands the  change  as  the  condition  of  admittance. 

III.  The  motives,  which  should  induce  you  to 
become  Christians,  are  numerous  and  cogent. 
But  few  of  them  can  now  be  presented. 


190  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

1.  The  unparalleled  importance  of  the  subject 
itself  should  move  you  to  action.     If  a  change  of 
heart  be   necessary  to   salvation,  who  can  be  in- 
different respecting  it  f     This  congregation  of  im- 
mortal youth,  sitting  in  judgment  on  the  question, 
whether  they  will   give   their   hearts  to  Christ  or 
not,  is  a  spectacle    which   interests  the   universe. 
The  question   you  are  to  decide  is,  whether  you 
will  be  saved  or  damned  ;  and  it  is  a  question  of 
such   overwhelming  import,  that  it  "  might  con- 
vulse the  abyss  and  move  the  thrones  of  heaven." 
A  question,  involving  such  wide  and  interminable 
extremes,    can    be    pondered    and    decided    only 
while  you   are  in  this  world  of  probation.     The 
question,  in  its  importance,  admits  of  no  parallel ; 
for  there  are  no  such  enrapturing  ecstacies  as  those 
of  heaven,  and  no  such  insupportable  despair  as 
that  of  hell. 

And  can  it  be,  my  young  .friends,  that  you  are 
to-day  settling  a  question  which  involves  so  much  ? 
Can  it  be,  that  the  lapse  of  one  more  hour  may 
determine  it  forever  ?  I  beseech  you,  then,  to 
decide  for  God  and  for  heaven.  Throw  not  away 
your  souls.  Put  not  away  from  you  everlasting 
life.  Choose  not  for  your  portion  everlasting 
death.  Decide  right,  and  decide  now. 

2.  The  uncertainty  and  brevity  of  life  should 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  191 

excite  you  to  instant  duty.  "  What  is  your  life  ? 
It  is  even  a  vapor,  which  appeareth  for  a  little 
time,  and  then  vanisheth  away."  Your  "  days 
are  swifter  than  a  post  ; "  they  are  like  "  the 
weaver's  shuttle."  Yesterday,  perhaps,  you  wove 
your  winding-sheet ;  to-day,  insidious  disease  may 
be  finding  the  way  to  your  heart-strings.  Your 
companions,  too,  are  falling  around  you,  like  the  ., 
leaves  of  autumn.  Summons  after  summons,  like 
successive  peak  of  thunder,  is  sounding  in  your 
ears.  Think  not  that  "  all  are  mortal  but  your- 
selves." Very  shortly  your  turn  will  come.  Pre- 
pared or  unprepared,  there  will  be  no  respite. 

Now,  by  the  utter  uncertainty  and  extreme 
brevity  of  life,  I  pray  you  to  "  prepare  to  meet 
your  God."  You  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring 
forth.  You  have  no  lease  of  life  for  an  hour  or 
moment. 

"  The  spider's  most  attenuated  thread 
Is  cord,  is  CABLE  to  man's  tender  tie 
On  earthly  bliss  ;  it  breaks  at  every  breeze." 

O,  the  superlative  folly  of  that  youth,  who  pro- 
crastinates repentance  !  "  Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  for 
why  will  ye  die  ?  " 

3.  Your  peace  of  conscience  requires  immediate 
reconciliation  to  God.  That  person  must  have 


192  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

very  little  knowledge  of  himself  and  of  divine 
truth,  or  must  be  given  over  to  hardness  of  heart, 
who  feels  no  compunctious  visitings  while  living  in 
sin.  IVJost  youth,  who  have  been  religiously  ed- 
ucated, are  much  under  the  influence  of  conscience. 
It  often  fills  them  with  disquietude  and  alarm. 
"  The  wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth." 

"  Guiltiness  will  speak,  though  tongues  were  out  of  use." 

The  bosom  of  many  a  sober,  moral   youth  is 

often  the  theatre  of  any  thing  but  repose.     "  The 

wicked  are  like  the  troubled  sea,  when  it  cannot 

•  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and  dirt.     There 

is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked." 

Here  then  is  a  mirror,  in  which  you  may  look 
far  into  your  own  heart,  and  see  the  mingling 
elements  of  that  storm  which  sometimes  rages 
there.  How  dire  the  wreck  of  serenity  and  joy  ! 
How  irksome,  and  restless,  and  agitated  is  all 
within  !  And  can  you  be  content  to  writhe  all 
your  life  under  the  dagger  of  remorse  ?  Do  not 
the  chills  of  despair,  like  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
chase  one  another  over  your  frames,  when  you 
think  of  your  present  and  prospective  condition  ? 
In  some  paroxysms  of  mental  agony,  is  not  the 
inquiry  extorted,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  " 
I  answer,  You  must  be  reconciled  to  God.  This 
war  in  your  conscience  is  a  war  with  your  Maker. 


PERSONAL  PIETY.  193 

You  must  submit  or  perish.  You  must  throw 
down  the  weapons  of  your  rebellion,  and  become 
the  cordial  subjects  of  the  Prince  of  peace,  or  all 
the  attributes  of  the  OMNIPOTENT  are  pledged  for 
your  destruction. 

I  will  plead  with  you  to  become  Christians  by 
one  motive  more. 

4.  You  are  in  danger  of  grieving  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  delay.  Jehovah  says,  "  My  Spirit  shall 
not  always  strive  with  man."  There  is  a  limit 
beyond  which  the  Holy  Spirit  will  strive  with  you 
no  more.  You  are  dependent  on  his  regenerating 
influences  for  salvation.  Will  you  then  trifle  on, 
till  you  pass  that  limit  where  those  influences  will 
forever  cease  ?  Perhaps  you  are  this  moment 
nearing  that  line.  Perhaps,  this  moment,  angels 
and  devils  are  gathering  round,  anxious  for  the  re- 
sult. Trepidation  may  be  felt  in  other  worlds  for 
the  decision  you  are  about  to  make. 

Immortal  youth  !  pause  and  consider.  Take 
not  another  step  in  the  road  to  perdition.  Is  not 
the  Spirit  of  God  now  moving  on  your  hearts  ? 
Do  you  say,  that  you  know  not  whether  you  ever 
felt  his  operations  ? 

"  Sinner,  hath  not  a  voice  within, 

Oft  whispered  to  thy  secret  soul, 
Urg'd  thee  to  leave  the  ways  of  sin, 
And  yield  thy  heart  to  God's  control  ? 


194  PERSONAL  PIETY. 

Hath  nothing  met  thee  in  the  path 

Of  worldliness  and  vanity, 
And  pointed  to  the  coining  wrath, 

And  warn'd  thee  from  that  wrath  to  flee? 

Sinner,  it  was  a  heavenly  voice, — 

It  was  the  Spirit's  gracious  call ; 
It  bade  thee  make  the  better  choice 

And  haste  to  seek  in  Christ  thine  all." 

Perhaps  his  last  call  is  now  sounding  in  the 
chambers  of  your  conscience.  Listen — believe — 
give  your  hearts  to -Jesus, — and  you  will  soon  find 
yourselves  in  a  new  world.  The  heavens  and 
the  earth  will  be  gilded  with  the  glory  of  God. 
Your  souls  will  beat  in  delightful  unison  with  the 
symphonies  of  his  holy  creation,  and  you  will 
then  begin  to  live. 

See  the  spirit  and  conduct  of  the  newly  con- 
verted youth. 

"  He  walks  with  God, 
Surveys  far  on  the  endless  line  of  life  ; 
Values  his  soul ;  thinks  of  eternity ; 
Both  world's  considers,  and  provides  for  both ; 
With  reason's  eye  his  passions  guards ;  abstains 
From  evil ;  lives  on  hope,  on  hope,  the  fruit 
Of  faith  ;  looks  upward  ;  purifies  his  soul ; 
Expands  his  wings,  and  mounts  into  the  sky ; 
Passes  the  sun,  and  gains  his  father's  house, 
And  drinks  with  angels  from  the  fount  of  bliss." 


LECTURE    VIII. 

LIFE    OF    ACTIVE    USEFULNESS. 

2  COR.  v.  15. — And  he  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live,  should  not  hence- 
forth live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him  which  died  for  them,  and  rose 
again. 

"  WHAT  is  the  chief  end  of  man  ?  Man's 
chief  end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  enjoy  him  for- 
ever." This  noble  sentiment  ought  not  only  to 
be  committed  to  memory  by  every  youth,  but  to 
be  indelibly  engraven  on  his  heart.  It  is  melan- 
choly to  notice,  what  a  wide  waste  of  talent,  and 
intelligence,  and  influence,  most  men  in  all  ages 
have  been  guilty  of,  by  not  understanding  and 
pursuing  the  great  and  only  proper  object  of  life. 
If  the  "  chief  end  of  man,"  or  the  great  object  of 
life,  be  to  "  glorify  God  "  and  to  become  pre- 
pared to  "  enjoy  him  forever,"  then  the  conduct 
of  a  vast  majority  of  mankind  is  stamped  with 
superlative  folly.  For  it  is  most  manifest,  that, 
not  only  the  Cains,  and  the  Sauls,  and  the  Jero- 


196  LIFE  OF 

boams,  and  Pilates,  and  Alexanders,  and  Attilas, 
and  Ca3sars,  and  Napoleons,  and  Humes,  and 
Voltaires,  and  Robespierres,  but  thousands  of  mil- 
lions of  others,  less  conspicuous  for  iniquity,  have 
not  made  it  their  supreme  object  to  "  please 
God,"  and  to  "enjoy  him"  here  and  hereafter. 
Indeed,  the  great  mass  of  men  seem  to  suppose, 
that  they  were  sent  into  the  world  merely  to  ac- 
cumulate property,  to  gain  renown,  and  to  enjoy 
sensual  pleasure.  Their  objects  are  purely  selfish. 
They  are  living  "  unto  themselves."  They  seem 
to  have  no  higher  views  of  the  object  of  life,  than 
the  gratification  of  self,  in  some  of  its  forms.  The 
horizon  of  their  views  is  narrowed  down  to  the 
diminutive  circumference  of  their  own  selfish  in- 
terests. 

It  is  perfectly  evident  from  the  Scriptures,  that 
the  indulgence  of  such  contracted  notions  of  the 
great  end  of  our  being,  is  a  perversion  of  the 
object  for  which  our  Creator  made  us.  There  is 
perhaps  nothing  more  important  to  persons  just 
entering  upon  active  life,  than  distinctly  to  under- 
stand the  reason  why  they  were  made.  If  they 
were  made  merely  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and  to  rise 
up  to  play, — if  they  were  created  merely  to  deco- 
rate their  bodies  in  the  most  fashionable  style, 
and  live  in  the  richest  palaces,  and  roll  in  the 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  197 

most  splendid  equipages,  and  to  be  deemed 
wealthier  and  more  honorable  than  others,  then 
they  should  know  it.  But  if  they  were  created 
for  a  far  higher  and  nobler  end  ;  if  they  are  heirs 
of  immortality  ;  if  they  sustain,  and  ever  will  sus- 
tain the  most  important  relations  to  all  intelligent 
beings  and  to  God,  then,  they  should  know  that. 

In  bringing  to  a  close  the  Course  of  Lectures,  to 
which  you  have  listened  with  so  much  candor  and 
indulgence,  and  I  would  fain  hope  not  entirely 
without  profit,  I  know  not  what  can  be  more  ap- 
propriate, than  to  recommend  to  you  a 

LlFE   OF  ACTIVE   USEFULNESS. 

Such  a  life  will  be  a  fulfilment  of  the  great 
design  of  your  creation.  All  the  preceding  lec- 
tures have  been  designed  to  bear  upon  this  point. 
It  has  been  my  purpose  to  throw  out  such  sug- 
gestions for  your  consideration,  as  would  tend  to 
form  your  characters  for  the  highest  possible 
degree  of  usefulness.  Particularly  has  it  been 
desired,  to  induce  you  all,  without  one  exception, 
to  become  Christians  ;  for  the  "  Christian  is  the 
highest  style  of  man  " — highest  in  excellence, 
highest  in  usefulness,  and  reflects  the  brightest 
glory  upon  your  Creator  and  Redeemer.  "  He 
died  for  all,  that  they  which  live,  should  not 


198  LIFE  OF 

henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him 
which  died  for  them  and  rose  again." 

According  to  the  text,  your  highest  usefulness 
in  life  will  consist  in  living  unto  Christ — in  pro- 
moting the  great  interests  of  his  kingdom  in  the 
world.  Your  attention  is  therefore  invited 

To  what  constitutes  the  basis  of  the  greatest 
usefulness  ; 

To  your  obligations  to  live  such  a  life ; 

To  the  encouragements  to  do  it ;  and 

To  the  results  of  supreme  devotedness  to 
Christ. 

I.  What  constitutes  the  basis  of  the  greatest 
usefulness  in  life  ? 

Good  native  and  acquired  abilities  are  highly 
necessary.  By  good  natural  abilities,  I  mean 
just  such  as  almost  every  youth  possesses.  That 
respectable  measure  of  talent,  which  is  generally 
enjoyed,  is  far  more  useful  than  occasional  prodi- 
gies of  genius.  Splendid  genius  falls  to  the  lot 
of  but  few,  and  is  rarely  distinguished  for  useful- 
ness, because  it  is  often  associated  with  some 
eccentricity,  equally  splendid.  Those  minds 
which  have  exerted  the  widest  and  most  benefi- 
cent influence  on  the  world,  have  generally  been 
those,  which  were  nearly  as  far  removed  from 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  199 

transcendent  genius  on  the  one  hand,  as  from  im- 
becility on  the  other. 

More  ordinarily  depends  on  intellectual  acqui- 
sitions than  on  native  talent.  Industry  and  habits 
of  close  application  are  indispensable  to  a  life  of 
distinguished  usefulness.  But  it  is  not  my  design 
to  dwell  on  this  point,  because  it  was  presented 
to  you  somewhat  at  large  on  a  former  occasion. 

Practical  wisdom,  also,  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
the  most  useful  life.  This  implies  a  quick  per- 
ception of  the  springs  of  human  action — a  deep 
knowledge  of  mankind — the  faculty  of  reasoning 
soundly,  or  of  drawing  just  conclusions  from  given 
premises — a  nice  discernment  of  what  is  proper 
and  improper,  of  what  is  right  and  wrong — and  a 
skillful  adaptation  of  means  to  accomplish  pro- 
posed ends.  A  person  distinguished  for  practical 
wisdom  is  but  rarely,  if  ever,  guilty  of  those  little 
weaknesses  and  indiscretions,  which  blight  the 
usefulness  of  multitudes,  and  which  make  you 
feel  it  to  be  somewhat  unsafe  to  adopt  their 
opinions,  or  to  be  governed  by  their  advice. 
The  cultivation  of  this  important  trait  of  char- 
acter, or  rather  of  this  happy  combination  of 
mental  qualities,  cannot  commend  itself  too  for- 
cibly to  your  attention. 

But  the  principal  ingredient  in  a  highly  useful 


200  LIFE  OF 

life,  and  which  I  feel  more  anxious  that  you 
should  possess  than  any  other  and  all  others,  is 
eminent  piety.  That  men  entirely  devoid  of  piety 
are  often,  in  various  degrees,  the  benefactors  of 
their  race,  is  cheerfully  admitted.  But  the  whole 
history  of  the  world  shows,  that  men  of  sound 
religious  principle  and  of  piety  have  generally 
performed  the  most  labor,  and  made  the  greatest 
sacrifices  of  ease  and  property,  and  health  and 
life,  for  the  promotion  of  the  best  interests  of  the 
human  kind.  It  is  only  the  man,  who  has  learned 
the  worth  of  his  own  soul,  who  feels  much  for  the 
souls  of  others.  It  is  only  the  man,  who  has  fled 
from  the  city  of  Destruction,  who  sees  the  danger 
of  remaining  there.  It  is  only  the  man,  who  has 
lost  his  load  of  sin  at  the  Cross,  who  sees  the 
immense  burden  of  guilt  under  which  others  are 
laboring.  It  is  only  the  man,  who  has  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  giant  Despair,  who  has  had  any 
taste  of  the  agonies  of  perdition.  It  is  only  the 
man,  who  has  ascended  the  Delectable  Mountains 
and  taken  a  near  view  of  heaven,  who  feels  a 
burning  desire  to  elevate  a  suffering  world  to  the 
felicity  of  that  abode. 

But  there  are  various  grades  even  in  the  piety 
of  Christians,  and  their  usefulness  is  ordinarily 
measured  by  the  degree  of  their  spiritual  attain- 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  201 

ments.  They  are  like  the  lights  in  the  firmament, 
differing  in  magnitude,  and  of  course,  in  splendor. 
It  is  a  fact  which  ought  to  clothe  the  church  in 
sackcloth,  that  the  great  mass  of  her  members 
have  acquired  so  little  of  the  spirit  of  their 
Master,  and  have  "lived"  so  little  "unto  Him." 
Their  formal,  fitful,  periodical  piety  has  done 
comparatively  but  little  to  bless  the  world.  Who 
are  the  men,  who,  in  all  ages  of  the  church,  have 
done  the  most  for  her  advancement?  They  are 
her  Abrahams,  and  Nehemiahs,  and  Pauls,  and 
Luthers,  and  Baxters,  and  Brainerds,  men  of  the 
highest  personal  attainments  in  holiness,  men  who 
habitually  walked  with  God.  These,  and  other 
similar  choice  spirits,  though  few  in  number,  have 
perhaps  done  more  for  the  world  and  for  the 
Saviour,  than  the  undistinguished  million  of  his 
professed  but  undevoted  friends.  Other  things 
being  equal,  they,  who  are  most  humble,  fervent, 
holy,  are  the  most  widely  useful.  Men  of  this 
stamp  have  wrought  those  miracles  of  love  and 
mercy  which  have  exalted  the  ages  in  which  they 
lived,  and  the  record  of  which  will  endure  longer 
than  the  sun  and  the  moon. 

And  what  is  necessary  now  to  banish  from  the 
earth  intemperance,  profaneness,  Sabbath-breaking, 
lewdnesSj  duelling,  murder,  slavery,  war;  in  short, 
14 


202  LIFE  OF 

those  legions  of  evils  which  afflict  humanity  ? 
Nothing  but  the  spirit  of  apostolic  Christianity 
in  the  church.  And  what  is  necessary  to  diffuse 
universally  light,  and  intelligence,  and  peace,  and 
brotherly-love,  and  salvation ;  and  to  transform 
this  world  into  another  Eden,  and  breathe  over 
it  the  zephyrs,  and  pour  around  it  the  radiance, 
and  inspire  it  with  the  transports  of  the  Millen- 
nium ?  Nothing  but  religion  enough.  And  to 
whom  shall  we  look,  under  God,  to  usher  in  a 
consummation  so  devoutly  to  be  wished  ?  To 
the  aged,  who  will  to-morrow  sink  into  the 
grave?  No.  To  the  middle  aged,  who^e  piety, 
low  as  it  is,  has  nearly  reached  its  maximum  ? 
No.  To  the  youth,  whose  very  existence  should 
be  baptized  into  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  who  can 
yet  attain  a  character  for  moral  elevation,  and 
symmetry,  and  power,  such  as  the  world  has 
never  seen  ?  Yes.  This  is  the  generation  which 
is  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and 
to  occupy  the  very  Thermopylae  of  the  conflict 
between  the  powers  of  light  and  darkness.  O, 
what  a  measure  of  piety  do  you  need  to  fulfil  the 
destiny  to  which  you  are  summoned  ! 

Christians,  generally,  seem  to  have  caught 
scarcely  a  glimpse  of  that  degree  of  piety,  which 
is  indispensable  to  the  conversion  of  the  world. 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  203 

Their  formality,  and  worldliness,  and  unbelief  must 
be  entirely  displaced  by  a  degree  of  spirituality, 
which  shall  equal  that  of  primitive  times.  They 
need  a  far  higher  degree  of  piety  to  bear  success, 
as  well  as  to  secure  it.  They  need  habitually  to 
feel  that  high  and  extreme  tension  of  anxiety  of 
souls,  which  "  the  nature  of  the  human  mind 
forbids  to  be  more,"  and  the  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject forbids  to  be  less.  And,  at  the  same  time, 
their  zeal  needs  to  be  the  most  enlightened,  the 
most  chastened,  and  the  best  directed.  The 
piety,  which  is  requisite  to  convert  the  world, 
needs  as  much  to  be  well  balanced  and  symmet- 
rical, as  to  be  ardent.  But  how  little  of  this 
piety  there  is  in  the  church  !  And  how  little  are 
Christians  trying  to  cultivate  it,  while  whole 
generations  of  men  are  sweeping  down  the  current 
of  life  into  the  ocean  of  a  hopeless  eternity  !  But 
this  is  the  piety  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  most 
eminently  useful  lives.  Let  it  be  your  daily  effort 
to  culiivate  it  in  yourselves  and  in  others. 

II.  You  are  under  solemn  obligations  to  live  a 
life  of  the  greatest  possible  usefulness.  These 
obligations  principally  arise  from  Christ's  redeem- 
ing love.  "  He  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live, 
should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but 
unto  Him,  which  died  for  them,  and  rose  again." 


204  LIFE  OF 

He  died  for  you.  He  had  his  eye  on  you,  in  the 
agonies  of  Gethsemane.  He  thought  of  you, 
while  hanging  on  the  cross.  Your  sins  drove  the 
nails  and  impelled  the  spear.  Your  sins  brought 
over  his  mind  that  cloud  of  horror  which  made 
him  exclaim,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me?"  And  when  the  scene  was  closing, 
the  last  pulsations  of  his  heart  were  for  you,  and 
then — all  was  still. 

He  died,  that  you  might  live.  And  as  many 
of  you  as,  through  his  death,  have  been  quickened 
into  spiritual  life  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  forever 
bound  to  live,  not  unto  yourselves,  but  unto  Him. 
You  owe  your  hopes,  and  joys,  and  prospects  all 
to  Him. 

"  O,  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor 
Daily  I'm  constrained  to  be, 
Let  that  grace  now  like  a  fetter 

Bind  my  wandering  heart  to  Thee." 

The  promotion  of  his  kingdom  in  the  world, 
you  should  therefore  regard  as  the  great  object  for 
which  you  were  born.  Nothing  else  compara- 
tively is  worth  living  for  a  moment.  This  is  the 
greatest  and  the  best  of  causes.  It  is  the  one 
which  will  soon  swallow  up  every  other.  Happy 
is  the  youth  whose  enjoyments  are  identified  with 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  205 

its  prosperity,  but  wo  be  to  him  who  opposes  its 
progress.  "  Whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone 
shall  be  broken,  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall, 
it  will  grind  him  to  powder." 

You  are  also  under  obligation  to  live  a  life  of 
the  highest  usefulness,  on  account  of  the  facilities 
afforded  you  for  doing  it.  Circumstances  often 
create  duty.  Your  means  of  doing  good  are  far 
superior  to  those  of  the  youth  who  lived  in  the 
dark  ages,  or  who  are  now  living  in  China,  or  in 
South  America,  or  even  in  Great  Britain.  You 
live  in  a  free  and  happy  land  ; — in  a  land  of  light 
and  unexampled  enterprise, — in  a  land  of  benevo- 
lent institutions  which  are  scattering  the  blessings 
of  education  and  piety  over  every  section  of  the 
country,  and  which  are  reaching  their  hands 
around  the  globe,  and  presenting  the  lamp  of  sal- 
vation to  the  benighted  dwellers  on  the  other  side. 
If  you  offer  up  one  "  effectual  fervent  prayer," 
the  influence  is  quickly  felt  from  the  equator  to 
the  poles.  If  you  insert  a  paragraph  in  the  news- 
papers containing  a  new  and  important  thought, 
that  thought  may  soon  circulate  in  different  lan- 
guages to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  If  you  have  a 
dollar  to  give,  you  can  place  a  Bible  in  a  family 
of  pagans,  and  as  the  parents  and  children  collect 
around  it  to  read,  or  listen  to  the  story  of  the 


206  LIFE  OF 

Saviour,  they  unitedly  exclaim,  "  this  is  what  we 
want;"  and  their  idols  are  thrown  "to  the  moles 
and  to  the  bats,"  and  hope  springs  up  within 
them  as  they  "  behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  If  you  assist 
in  sending  a  band  of  missionaries  to  a  heathen 
land,  as  they  disembark  and  ascend  the  hills  to 
view  the  scene  of  their  future  labors,  and  as  the 
inhabitants  are  collecting  from  all  directions  to 
receive  them,  you  will  hear  a  new  song,  bursting 
from  hundreds  of  voices,  "  How  beautiful  upon 
the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  them  that  bring 
good  tidings,  that  publish  peace,  that  bring  good 
tidings  of  good,  that  publish  salvation,  that  saith 
unto  Zion,  '  Thy  God  reigneth.' 5: 

The  youth  who  has  a  heart  to  do  good  finds  no 
lack  of  opportunity.  Numerous  facilities  are  al- 
ready within  his  reach,  and  new  ones  are  con- 
stantly opening  around  him.  This  state  of  things 
imposes  obligation.  "  To  whom  much  is  given, 
of  them  will  much  be  required."  He  who  has 
ten  talents  is  bound  so  to  employ  them  as  to  gain 
ten  talents  more.  Never  was  there  a  generation 
of  young  men  and  young  females,  which  could  do 
so  much  for  Christ  and  his  cause.  You  enjoy  the 
day,  which  kings  and  prophets  desired  to  see  ;  a 
day  of  all  others  the  most  favorable  for  exerting  a 
wide  moral  influence. 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  207 

Coming  upon  the  stage  of  action  with  these  un- 
precedented facilities  and  means  of  usefulness,  you 
are  bound  to  make  the  most  of  life.  Your  obli- 
gations to  live  for  Christ  and  the  world  can  be 
measured  only  by  your  ability.  "  She  hath  done 
what  she  could"  was  a  splendid  eulogium  pro- 
nounced by  our  Lord  on  a  female  friend,  and  it 
marked  at  once  the  extent  of  her  obligation  and 
the  degree  of  her  devotedness.  Ability,  and 
ability  only,  is  the  measure  of  your  obligation. 
Cheerfully,  then,  offer  yourselves  and  all  you 
possess  a  sacrifice  to  Christ  upon  the  altar  of 
duty.  But, 

III.  What  are  some  of  the  encouragements  to 
lead  a  life  of  usefulness  ? 

One  is,  there  is  enough  to  be  done.  "  The 
field  is  the  world."  Here  is  scope  for  your  most 
enlarged  philanthropy.  The  generous  mind  loves 
to  have  enough  to  do.  Now  there  is  very  much 
in  the  social,  the  political,  and  the  religious  con- 
ditions of  the  world  which  needs  reform.  Indeed, 
there  is  but  little  in  any  of  these  conditions,  which 
is  now  right.  The  reform  must  be  radical,  in  the 
good  sense  of  the  word.  More  than  the  strength 
of  Hercules  is  necessary  to  cleanse  this  world  of 
its  impurities.  The  blessings  of  education  need 
to  be  universally  diffused.  The  personal  and 


208  LIFE  OF 

domestic  relations  of  life  require  special  improve- 
ment. A  general  and  thorough  reformation  of 
morals  is  demanded.  An  universal  and  conscien- 
tious regard  to  the  rights  and  happiness  of  others, 
and  to  the  will  and  glory  of  God,  is  imperatively 
required. 

Now,  to  work  a  reformation  of  such  intrinsic 
difficulty  and  wide  extent — to  re-mould  nearly  all 
the  maxims,  and  opinions,  and  principles  of  men — 
to  re-cast  almost  the  entire  framework  of  human 
society — to  form  every  thing  on  the  basis  of  the 
word  of  God — and  to  prepare  the  world  for  the 
latter  day  glory  and  especially  for  heaven  ; — this, 
this  is  the  enterprise,  which  the  youth  of  this 
generation  are  called  to  prosecute. 

Another  great  encouragement  is  the  favorable 
concurrence  of  providential  events.  It  has  been 
said,  with  equal  felicity  and  truth,  that  "  the 
Greeks  would  have  conquered  the  Persians  without 
Alexander, — that  the  Romans  would  have  been 
enslaved,  had  Caesar  never  been  born, — and  that 
the  Arabians  would  have  been  deceived  by  other 
impostors,  if  Mohammed  had  never  existed." 
But  why  ?  Because  the  tide  of  events,  in  each 
case,  ran  in  favor  of  just  such  a  result  as  did  ac- 
tually occur.  The  existing  state  of  society  was 
such  as  necessarily  to  bring  about  the  results  which 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  209 

did  take  place,  unless  arrested  by  the  direct  in- 
terposition of  the  Almighty. 

In  like  manner,  the  present  age  exhibits  the 
most  striking  and  unparalleled  concurrence  of 
events,  tending  directly,  as  it  would  seem,  to  work 
out  the  moral  regeneration  of  the  world.  The 
concurring  circumstances  are  such  as  these  ; — 
public  expectation,  like  that  which  ushered  in  the 
advent  of  the  Redeemer,  anticipates  and  favors  a 
great  moral  revolution  in  the  state  of  the  world  ; 
the  missionary  cast  given  to  the  education  of  chil- 
dren throughout  Christendom,  baptizing  them,  as 
no  preceding  generation  has  been,  in  the  very 
spirit  of  engagedness  for  the  world's  conversion  ; — 
the  numerous  voluntary  associations  formed  for 
the  direct  purpose  of  diffusing  the  gospel,  con- 
taining within  themselves  the  elements  of  self- 
preservation  to  the  end  of  time,  adapting  them- 
selves to  all  the  varieties  of  human  want,  capable 
of  commanding  the  most  inexhaustible  resources, 
and  already  wielding  an  amount  of  influence  which 
moves  the  globe  ; — the  wide  and  increasing  dif- 
fusion of  the  English  language,  that  vast  store- 
house of  Christian  truth,  richer  than  all  other  lan- 
guages in  the  means  of  evangelical  instruction,  and 
insuring,  by  its  spread,  the  spread  of  the  Bible ; — 
the  commercial  activity  of  Great  Britain  and  the 


210  LIFE  OF 

United  States,  the  two  most  Christian  nations  of 
the  earth  ; — the  numerous  emigrations  from  these 
countries  to  every  part  of  the  world,  which  ne- 
cessarily tend  to  the  wide  diffusion  of  the  true 
faith  ; — the  unexampled  multiplication  of  copies 
of  the  Bible  by  means  of  the  press  ; — the  disper- 
sion of  the  Jews  among  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
holding  as  they  do,  with  proverbial  tenacity,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Unity  of  God,  and  prepared,  by 
their  universal  presence,  when  they  themselves 
shall  embrace  the  Messiah,  to  exert  a  powerful 
influence  in  subverting  polytheism  ; — the  trium- 
phant progress  of  the  temperance  reformation, 
removing  some  of  the  principal  obstacles  to  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  ; — and  finally,  the  unparal- 
leled effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  multiplying 
converts  to  Christianity  almost  like  the  drops  of 
the  morning. 

Such  are  some  of  the  conspiring  causes,  which 
are  operating  the  most  salutary  changes  in  human 
affairs.  And,  can  you,  my  young  friends,  in  your 
efforts  to  enlighten  and  save  the  world,  ask  the 
co-operation  of  more  powerful  agencies  ?  Can 
you  desire  stronger  supports  of  your  faith,  or  in- 
citements of  your  zeal  ? 

You  may  also  derive  great  encouragement  from 
the  comparative  ease,  with  which  public  opinion  on 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  211 

any  point  of  morals  is  now  corrected.  Public 
sentiment  rules  the  world,  and  time  has  been, 
when  it  seemed  as  unalterable  as  the  laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians.  Moral  influences  were 
nearly  stagnant,  and  little  could  be  done  in  the 
work  of  reform.  But  the  scene  has  changed. 
JVloral  influences  are  now  active  and  numerous, 
and  can  be  easily  concentrated  and  made  to  bear, 
with  tremendous  energy,  upon  any  given  abuse. 
As  illustrations  of  this,  I  refer  you,  among  other 
things,  to  the  increasing  unpopularity  of  war. 
Not  long  since,  nations,  for  the  most  trivial  reasons, 
would  plunge  into  the  guilt  and  horrors  of  this 
wholesale  butchery  of  their  species  ;  but  public 
sentiment  now  frowns  upon  that  practice,  and  the 
consequence  is,  that  most  civilized  nations  are  re- 
luctant to  decide  their  controversies  by  an  appeal 
to  arms,  but  prefer  their  settlement  by  the  arbi- 
tration of  a  third  power. 

A  few  years  ago,  the  slave-trade  was  prosecuted 
with  vigor  by  nearly  every  nation  in  Christendom. 
But,  by  the  efforts  of  Clarkson,  Wilberforce  and 
others,  public  sentiment  has  become  so  enlight- 
ened and  reformed,  that  many  of  those  very 
nations  have  pronounced  that  traffic  to  be  piracy 
and  punish  it  accordingly. 

A   short   time   since,   intemperance    rolled    its 


212  LIFE  OF 

waves  of  "  distilled  damnation  "  over  the  fairest 
portions  of  the  world  ;  and  though  the  deluge  has 
not  yet  entirely  died  away,  a  rectified  public  sen- 
timent has  reared  an  effectual  barrier  against  its 
power,  saying,  "  Hitherto  shall  thou  come,  and 
no  further,  and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be 
stayed." 

You  may  labor,  then,  for  a  general  and  thorough 
reformation  of  morals,  with  this  inspiring  con- 
viction, that  public  opinion  can  with  comparative 
ease  be  reformed,  and  made  to  bring  its  resistless 
energies  to  your  help. 

But  the  crowning  encouragement  to  a  life  of 
usefulness  is  the  certainty  of  success.  God  has 
indissolubly  joined  the  effect  to  the  means.  Do 
you  pray  ?  He  has  said,  that  praying  breath  shall 
not  be  spent  in  vain.  Do  you  labor  ?  He  has 
said,  that  your  "  labor  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the 
Lord."  Do  you  give  your  substance  ?  He  has 
said,  you  "  shall  in  no  wise  lose  your  reward." 
No  efforts,  put  forth  with  right  motives  to  build 
up  his  kingdom,  can  prove  abortive.  Good  will 
be  done.  The  world  will  be  converted.  "  The 
earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  There  is  no  cause 
in  which  you  can  labor  with  such  certainty  of  suc- 
cess. Disappointment  here  is  impossible.  God 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  213 

has  promised  to  convert  the  world,  and  has  pledged 
all  the  resources  of  his  Omnipotence  to  redeem 
his  promise.  "  Hath  He  said,  and  shall  He  not 
do  it  ?  or  hath  He  spoken,  and  shall  He  not  make 
it  good  ?  "  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away, 
but  His  word  shall  not  pass  away."  Here,  then, 
is  the  supreme  encouragement  to  live  and  to  labor 
for  Christ  and  his  cause. 

Let  us  contemplate, 

IV.  Some  of  the  particular  results  of  a  life  of 
supreme  devotedness  to  Christ. 

I.  It  will  produce  a  state  of  elevated  religious 
enjoyment.  Go  almost  where  you  will  in  the 
churches  and  you  will  hear  the  complaint,  "  We 
have  but  little  holy  consolation  and  peace."  Over 
nothing,  perhaps,  are  so  many  tears  shed  by  multi- 
tudes of  professed  Christians,  as  the  withdrawment 
of  the  divine  presence  from  their  souls.  Much  of 
their  time  they  walk  in  darkness,  and  they  have 
walked  in  darkness  so  long,  that  they  regard  deliv- 
erance to  be  nearly  hopeless.  They  almost  expect 
to  live  and  to  die  under  the  cloud.  They  perhaps 
can  recollect  the  time,  when  the  candle  of  the 
Lord  shined  brightly  upon  their  tabernacle — when 
God  was  enjoyed,  and  their  days  and  nights  were 
full  of  peace.  But  that  holy,  halcyon  season  has 
long  since  passed  away,  and  gloom,  and  wretch- 


214  LIFE  OF 

edness,  and  tears  are  now  their  meat  and  their 
drink. 

Now,  it  is  evident,  that  this  state  of  mind  is  not 
only  quite  common,  but  most  deplorable.  In 
primitive  times,  religion  was  a  matter  of  habitual 
and  high  enjoyment.  Its  consolations  were  ever 
present  in  seasons  of  trial.  And  so  it  is  now  with 
that  class  of  Christians,  who  live  devoted  to  their 
Lord.  Why  was  it  that  Paul  could  say,  "  For 
me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain  ?  "  Be- 
cause his  was  a  life  of  supreme  devotedness  to 
Jesus.  Why  was  it  that  Latimer,  when  enveloped 
in  the  flames  of  martyrdom,  could  say  to  Ridley, 
his  companion  at  the  stake,  "  Be  of  good  cheer, 
brother,  we  shall  this  day  light  such  a  candle  in 
England,  as,  I  trust  in  God,  shall  never  go  out?" 
Because  a  life  of  simple,  entire  consecration  to 
Christ  had  prepared  him  for  that  hour.  A  mis- 
sionary of  the  cross,  who  was  embarking  from 
our  shores  to  go  and  spend  his  life  in  the  isles 
of  the  Pacific,  said  to  the  speaker,  as  he  "  ac- 
companied him  to  the  ship,"  "  Go  and  tell  my 
brethren  at  the  theological  seminary,  that  this  is 
the  happiest  day  of  my  life."  O,  if  Christians 
would  live  devotedly  to  their  Master,  their  harps 
would  no  longer  hang  on  the  willows,  the  light  of 
God's  countenance  would  return,  and  their  "  peace 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  215 

would  be  as  a  river,  and  their  righteousness  as  the 
waves  of  the  sea." 

"  Heaven  waits  not  the  last  moment,  owns  her  friends 
On  this  side  death,  and  points  them  out  to  men." 

2.  Eminent  devotedness  will  result  in  the  con- 
version of  many  souls.  "  Restore  unto  me  the 
joy  of  thy  salvation,  and  uphold  me  with  thy  free 
spirit,  then  will  1  teach  transgressors  thy  ways, 
and  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  thee."  The 
tone  of  piety  in  the  soul  ordinarily  determines  the 
extent  of  one's  usefulness.  Harlan  Page,  by  his 
ever-living,  warm-hearted  piety,  was  the  honored 
instrument  of  converting  a  great  number  of  indi- 
viduals. His  piety  was  of  that  active,  practical 
character,  which  sought  to  bring  the  Gospel  to 
bear  on  the  conscience  of  any  and  every  person 
to  whom  he  could  gain  access.  His  affectionate, 
solemn  and  pathetic  appeals  to  the  consciences  of 
individuals  was  the  secret  of  his  success ;  and  he 
could  make  such  appeals,  because  his  views  of  the 
danger  of  sinners  were  rendered  absorbing  and  over- 
whelming by  his  steady  contemplation  of  eternal 
scenes.  Brainerd's  success  among  the  Indians  was 
never  so  astonishing,  as  when  he  was  "  dwelling 
on  the  sides  of  eternity."  That  degree  of  piety 
in  Christians,  which  makes  them,  relinquish  their 


216  LIFE  OF 

hold  on  the  honors,  pleasures  and  emoluments  of 
this  life,  and  sets  them  apart  exclusively  to  the 
service  of  God,  exerts  a  surprising  influence  in 
bringing  sinners  to  Jesus,  wakes  up  louder  an- 
thems in  heaven,  and  plants  new  gems  in  their 
eternal  crowns. 

3.  Supreme  devotedness  will  give  a  new  impvlse 
to  the  missionary  enterprise.  At  the  present  rate 
of  proceeding,  there  is  but  little  prospect  that  the 
world  will  ever  be  converted.  A  much  higher 
degree  of  faith,  and  zeal,  and  benevolence  is 
indispensable  to  success.  Christians,  generally, 
have  not  yet  taken  hold  of  the  work  in  earnest. 
So  long  as  they  can  be  contented,  and  see  the 
cause  of  God  remain  nearly  stationary,  so  long 
will  but  little  be  done.  But  when  they  become 
so  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity 
themselves,  that  it  is  essential  to  their  happiness 
to  see  the  cause  rapidly  advance,  then  prayer,  and 
men,  and  money  will  no  longer  be  wanting. 

There  have  been  some  few  Christians  who 
possessed  this  degree  of  devotedness,  and  their 
influence  is  felt  around  the  globe.  Carey  pos- 
sessed it,  when,  with  holy  magnanimity  of  soul, 
he  said  to  his  brethren  who  were  projecting  a 
mission  to  the  East, — "  Attempt  great  things, 
expect  great  things.'11  Harriet  Newell  possessed 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  217 

it,  when  she  penned  her  decision  to  become  a 
missionary, — 

"  The  sultry  climes  of  India  then  I'll  choose, 
There  will  I  toil  and  sinners'  bonds  unloose, 
There  will  I  live  and  spend  my  latest  breath, 
And  in  ray  Jesus'  service  meet  a  stingless  death." 

Paul  felt  it  when  he  said,  "  What  mean  ye  to 
weep  and  to  break  mine  heart  ?  for  I  am  ready 
not  to  be  bound  only,  but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem 
for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

And  there  are  some  living  examples  of  supreme 
devotedness.  They  are  that  class  of  Christians, 
who  hold  all  they  possess  sacredly  consecrated  to 
the  cause  of  God,  and  who  "  count  not  their  lives 
dear  unto  themselves  "  if  they  may  but  rescue 
sinners  from  perdition.  O,  that  their  spirit  may 
soon  pervade  the  whole  church  !  Then  will  her 
"righteousness  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  her 
salvation  as  a  lamp  that  burneth." 

4.  Entire  devotedness  to  Christ  will  prepare 
you  for  peace  in  death.  A  devoted,  holy  life  is, 
in  almost  every  case,  followed  by  a  peaceful,  if 
not  a  triumphant  departure.  «  Them  that  honor 
me,"  saith  God,  « I  will  honor."  There  is  not  a 
more  delightful  spectacle  below  the  sun,  than  to 
see  a  Christian,  who  has  honestly  and  entirely 
15 


218  LIFE  OF 

devoted  himself  to  God,  rising  to  those  Pisgah 
heights  of  joy,  which  give  token  that  he  will 
soon  take  his  mansion  near  the  throne.  There, 
"  the  praises  and  censures  of  men  die  away  upon 
the  ear,  and  the  still  small  voice  of  conscience  is 
no  longer  drowned  by  the  din  of  this  nether  world. 
Here,  the  sight  is  apt  to  be  occupied  by  earthly 
objects,  and  the  hearing  to  be  engrossed  with 
earthly  sounds ;  but  there,  he  has  come  within 
the  view  of  the  resplendent  and  incorruptible 
crown,  which  is  held  forth  to  his  acceptance  in 
the  realms  of  light,  and  his  ear  is  regaled  with 
heavenly  melody.  Here,  we  dwell  in  a  variable 
atmosphere ; — the  prospect  is  at  one  time  dark- 
ened by  the  gloom  of  disgrace,  and,  at  another, 
the  eye  is  dazzled  t>y  the  gleamings  of  glory; 
but  he  has  now  ascended  above  this  inconstant 
region ;  no  storms  agitate  ;  no  clouds  obscure  the 
air  ;  and  the  lightnings  play  and  the  thunders  roll 
beneath  him."  * 

See  the  end  of  the  late  lamented  and  devoted 
Payson.  See  him  dating  the  last  letter  he  ever 
dictated  at  the  "  land  of  Beulah  " 

"  Quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven ; " 
*  Wilbeiforce's  Practical  View. 


ACTIVE  USEFULNESS.  219 

and  hear  him  saying,  "  The  celestial  city  is  full  in 
my  view.  Its  glories  beam  upon  me,  its  breezes 
fan  me,  its  odors  are  wafted  to  me,  its  sounds 
strike  upon  my  ears,  and  its  spirit  is  breathed  into 
my  heart.  Nothing  separates  me  from  it  but  the 
river  of  death,  which  now  appears  but  as  an  insig- 
nificant rill,  that  may  be  crossed  at  a  single  step, 
whenever  God  shall  give  permission.  The  Sun 
of  Righteousness  has  been  gradually  drawing 
nearer  and  nearer,  appearing  larger  and  brighter 
as  he  approached,  and  now  he  fills  the  whole 
hemisphere ;  pouring  forth  a  flood  of  glory,  in 
which  I  seem  to  float  as  an  insect  in  the  beams 
of  the  sun  ;  exulting,  yet  almost  trembling,  while 
I  gaze  on  this  excessive  brightness,  and  wondering 
with  unutterable  wonder,  why  God  should  deign 
thus  to  smile  upon  a  sinful  worm." 

Are  you  ready  to  exclaim,  "  Let  me  die  the 
death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be 
like  his  ? "  Then,  live  for  Christ,  LIVE  FOR 
CHRIST.  Thus  your  sun  will  set  in  glory. 
Amid  the  tremblings,  and  sinkings,  and  gaspings 
of  dissolution,  ineffable  peace  will  fill  your  souls ; 
and  you  will  ascend  to  the  abode  of  the  redeemed 
— and  be  clothed  in  white  robes  wrought  in  the 
manufactory  of  the  skies — and  receive  your  un- 
fading crowns  —  and  join  the  song  of  heaven, 


220  LIFE  OF  ACTIVE  USEFULNESS. 

breaking  from  the  voices  of  "  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  and  thousands  of  thousands,"  rising 
and  swelling  into  one  universal  chorus,  and  rolling 
on  through  the  cycle  of  eternity  with  ever  increas- 
ing alleluias  "  unto  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne 
and  unto  the  Lamb." 


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